MicroStrategy, the largest corporate investor in Bitcoin, saw its co-founder Michael Saylor experience a significant increase in personal wealth of approximately $700 million following a recent surge in the company’s shares and the price of BTC. This increase followed MicroStrategy’s recent addition of 3,000 BTC to its holdings, bringing the total to 193,000 BTC.
Fortune Grows by $700 Million with Recent Surge
The value of MicroStrategy’s shares, which are closely linked to its substantial BTC holdings, rose by 10% in parallel with the over 40% surge in the value of the largest cryptocurrency over three days. With a 12% stake in MicroStrategy and personal holdings of 17,732 BTC, Saylor’s wealth increased from $2.27 billion to $2.96 billion during this period.
As a well-known advocate for Bitcoin, Saylor co-authored a book titled “What is Money?” in 2023. Furthermore, under Saylor’s leadership in 2020, MicroStrategy adopted a Bitcoin-centric investment strategy to hedge against inflation and diversify its cash reserves.
Despite facing unrealized losses during the “crypto winter,” Saylor focused on accumulating more BTC, with the company’s BTC holdings now nearing 200,000 units. This sizeable asset base makes the company the largest corporate Bitcoin investor.
Despite high unrealized gains, MicroStrategy has no plans to liquidate its Bitcoin holdings, and Saylor sees the leading cryptocurrency as an exit strategy. Speaking during the company’s latest quarterly earnings report, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kang emphasized MicroStrategy’s position as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin investor and their long-term commitment to the largest cryptocurrency.
The Rise of Bitcoin
Indeed, the company’s approach has been strongly supported by the recent price increase of Bitcoin, which reached its highest level since November 2021. Despite a drop to around $61,000 following glitches in Coinbase‘s application, Bitcoin saw a notable rise recently. BTC, which was trading at $51,500 on the first day of the week, climbed to $64,000 by Wednesday. This demand for Bitcoin was met by spot Bitcoin ETFs, which collectively hold more BTC than MicroStrategy.
In the United States, spot Bitcoin ETFs, which started trading in January, broke the $2 billion trading volume barrier for the second consecutive day, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 billion. Additionally, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) recorded a record trading volume of $1.3 billion on February 27, signaling significant institutional participation in the cryptocurrency market.
