MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor’s company now called Strategy, bought 1,036 Bitcoin (BTC) last week, lifting its stack to 850,364 coins. Strive added 29 more, even as BTC slipped below Strategy’s $75,456 average cost.
At about $74,876, the stack sits roughly $490 million below the $64.16 billion Strategy paid. Its filing also shows it spent more propping up its dividend stock than buying Bitcoin, and MSTR shareholders funded both through 2 million new shares.
Where Did Strategy’s $283.8 Million Go?
Strategy sold 2,051,348 MSTR shares between Nov. 2 and Nov. 8, raising $283.8 million, its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows.
Only $81.9 million went to Bitcoin. That bought 1,036 BTC at an average of $79,012 each, above where the coin trades now.
The bigger slice, $188.3 million, bought back about 1.89 million shares of STRC. STRC, nicknamed Stretch, is Strategy’s preferred stock. It pays a monthly dividend and is built to trade near $100.
The buyback works out to roughly $99.77 a share. STRC last closed at $99.84, per Yahoo Finance, just under the $100 mark it reclaimed last week.
The filing shows no new STRC sold during the week. Common shareholders carried the cost instead. MSTR last closed at $128.93, down about 22% from $164.55 a month earlier.
Saylor has room to keep selling. Strategy still has $18.34 billion of MSTR stock available through its at-the-market (ATM) program, which feeds shares gradually into the market, the filing shows.
How Deep Is the Bitcoin Loss, and Has Strategy Been Here Before?
At Bitcoin’s current price, the stack sits about $490 million below cost, BeInCrypto calculations based on the filing and CoinGecko data show. The loss would reach $1 billion near $74,270.
On Oct. 5, BTC closed above $86,000. At today’s holdings and cost, that level implied a paper gain of roughly $9.4 billion.
Strategy has been deeper underwater this year. In August, its treasury was $4.69 billion underwater with BTC near $69,800. Bitcoin later climbed back above its cost.
The company also holds a cushion. Its $4.77 billion USD Reserve is cash set aside for preferred dividends and debt interest. Strategy drew $21.1 million from it last week.
Strive Buys at $75,721 as Both Treasuries Lean on Stock Sales
Strive (ASST), the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, added 29 BTC for $2.2 million, the company announced. Its holdings rose to 43,153 coins.
Strive paid an average of $75,721 per coin. That price is also above Monday’s market.
Both companies fund purchases by selling their own securities. As BeInCrypto reported last week, that approach has been cutting Strategy’s Bitcoin per share while Strive’s rose.
Strategy also has $560.3 million left in its preferred buyback plan. Next Monday’s filing will show whether Saylor keeps selling MSTR to fund both if STRC stays below $100 and BTC stays below $75,456.
