- MicroStrategy bought 14,620 BTC for roughly $42,110 per BTC
- They now have aggregate Bitcoin holdings valued at around $5.9 billion
MicroStrategy is banking on potential approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States and continuing to stack Bitcoin in the process, leading media reported.
According to an official 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries bought 14,620 BTC for roughly $42,110 per BTC, including fees and other costs. The total price of the acquisition, made between Nov. 20, 2023 and Dec. 26, 2023, cost the firm $615.7 million in cash.
Firm holds 189K BTC valued at $5.9B
After the acquisition, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries have aggregate Bitcoin holdings of 189,150 BTC, valued at around $5.9 billion at current prices. This is the aggregate value, putting the average purchase price per BTC at around $31,168.
The most recent purchase follows one of 16,130 Bitcoin in November, when the company paid $36,785 per Bitcoin. In June, MicroStrategy bought 12,333 BTC, and then 6,067 BTC in September and October.
Steadfast commitment to Bitcoin
According to MicroStrategy cofounder Michael Saylor, Bitcoin is the only real safe haven for an institutional investor. The acquisition is further evidence of his and MicroStrategy’s commitment to the flagship crypto. On Jan. 10, the crypto community expects the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF or, indeed, several.
According to Saylor, a spot Bitcoin ETF could open the door to mainstream investors of all levels, who couldn’t access Bitcoin before, making it the “biggest development on Wall Street in 30 years.”
The risks of a Bitcoin ETF
Not everyone shares his optimism. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Bitcoin analyst Josef Tetek stated that a spot Bitcoin ETF carries the risk of creating “millions of unbacked Bitcoins.”
In his opinion, the idea of a spot Bitcoin ETF conflicts with the idea of self-custody. Self-custodial crypto storage solutions let users hold Bitcoin by taking full responsibility for the private key or the actual assets. Bitcoin ETFs look safer than exchanges on the surface, creating a systemic risk.
Another potential risk of spot Bitcoin ETF approval is that large amounts of BTC could be held in central locations where the assets might be seized by the government.
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