MicroStrategy has announced the purchase of 31,755 Bitcoin at a cost of $1.25 billion in Q4 2023, increasing the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 190,000 units.
MicroStrategy’s Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Results report detailed the extensive acquisition and demonstrated the company’s consistent emphasis on Bitcoin as a key asset within its portfolio. By the end of 2023, MicroStrategy’s investment in Bitcoin reached an aggregate purchase price of $5.93 billion, averaging $31,224 per Bitcoin.
“We acquired 31,755 additional bitcoins since the end of the third quarter, marking the largest quarterly bitcoin holding increase in the last 3 years and the 13th consecutive quarter of adding more bitcoin on our balance sheet,” said Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kang.
Kang suggested that MicroStrategy capitalized on the rise in Bitcoin prices during Q4, utilizing its capital market activities and available cash reserves to increase its Bitcoin investments.
MicroStrategy Continues to Invest in Bitcoin in 2024
According to the company’s founder and Chairman Michael Saylor, an additional 850 Bitcoin was acquired at a cost of $37.2 million in January 2024.
In January, @MicroStrategy acquired an additional 850 BTC for $37.2 million and now holds 190,000 BTC. Please join us at 5pm ET as we discuss our Q4 2023 financial results and answer questions about our #bitcoin strategy and business outlook. $MSTR https://t.co/j5SbcELsue
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) February 6, 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2023, MicroStrategy reported total revenues of $124.5 million, marking a 6.1% decline from the same period in 2022, with a further adjustment to a 7.8% decrease when evaluated on a non-GAAP constant currency basis.
The company also managed a gross profit of $96.3 million in Q4, achieving a 77.3% gross margin. This figure, however, fell short of the $105.8 million gross profit and 79.8% gross margin recorded in the final quarter of 2022.
Vanguard’s Indirect Stake in Bitcoin
The asset management firm Vanguard established a considerable stake in MicroStrategy, indirectly associating itself with the crypto market. Holding 8.24% of the company’s shares as of the third quarter of 2023, Vanguard emerged as the second-largest institutional investor in MicroStrategy.
While Vanguard has refrained from offering direct Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), preferring to focus on conventional assets, its indirect exposure via MicroStrategy indicates a cautious but notable pivot towards digital assets within traditional financial portfolios.