Key Takeaways
- MicroStrategy, rebranded as Strategy, has solidified its position as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, amassing over 628,000 BTC by late July 2025.
- The company aggressively finances its Bitcoin acquisitions using capital market instruments, primarily through substantial convertible note and at-the-market equity offerings.
- While this single-asset treasury strategy has generated significant unrealised gains of approximately $47 billion, it also introduces considerable balance sheet volatility and rising corporate debt.
- With revenue from its core software business in decline, the company increasingly functions as a de facto investment vehicle for Bitcoin, its stock performance showing a high correlation to the cryptocurrency’s price movements.
MicroStrategy’s transformation into a Bitcoin-centric entity exemplifies a bold corporate treasury strategy that prioritises cryptocurrency as a superior store of value over traditional assets, with its holdings reaching unprecedented levels by mid-2025 amid fluctuating market conditions.
Evolution of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Strategy
MicroStrategy, rebranded as Strategy in early 2025, has positioned itself as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally. The company’s approach, spearheaded by executive chairman Michael Saylor, involves allocating substantial portions of its capital to Bitcoin acquisitions, viewing the asset as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. This strategy originated in 2020, when MicroStrategy began converting its cash reserves into Bitcoin, a move that has since expanded through debt issuances, equity offerings, and operational cash flows.
By the end of the second quarter of 2025, Strategy reported holding 607,770 Bitcoin, acquired at an average cost of approximately $43,000 per coin. This accumulation has been methodical, with purchases often funded by convertible notes and at-the-market equity offerings. For context, in the first quarter of 2025, the company added 92,000 Bitcoin to its portfolio, bringing its total to over 500,000 coins at that time. Comparative data from 2024 shows holdings of around 214,000 Bitcoin by year-end, illustrating a near tripling in less than seven months, driven by aggressive capital raising.
Recent Acquisition Activity
In July 2025, Strategy executed a significant purchase, acquiring 21,021 Bitcoin at an average price of $117,000 per coin, totalling approximately $2.46 billion. This transaction, completed between 22 July and 28 July 2025, increased its holdings to 628,791 Bitcoin. The funding for this buy came from a recent $2 billion convertible notes offering, upsized from an initial $1.75 billion due to strong investor demand. This follows a pattern observed earlier in the year; for instance, a March 2025 purchase of 25,250 Bitcoin for $1.9 billion marked the largest single acquisition up to that point in the year.
To illustrate the scale and progression of these purchases, the following table summarises key Bitcoin acquisitions by Strategy in 2025:
| Date Range | Bitcoin Acquired | Total Cost (USD Billion) | Average Price per Bitcoin (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January–March 2025 | 92,000 | 10.5 | 114,130 |
| April–June 2025 | 85,500 | 9.8 | 114,620 |
| July 2025 (to 28 July) | 27,241 | 3.2 | 117,500 |
These figures are adjusted for any stock splits and derived from regulatory filings. The July total includes the aforementioned 21,021 Bitcoin plus smaller incremental buys earlier in the month.
Financial Implications and Balance Sheet Analysis
Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings were valued at approximately $74 billion as of 28 July 2025, based on a spot price of $118,300 per Bitcoin. This represents a marked appreciation from the aggregate purchase cost of $27 billion, yielding an unrealised gain of $47 billion. However, this strategy introduces volatility to the company’s financials. For the fiscal year ending 31 December 2024, Strategy reported impairment losses of $2.3 billion on its Bitcoin holdings due to price dips, though these are non-cash charges under accounting rules.
In comparison, the second quarter of 2025 saw revenue from its core software business at $111 million, down 7% from the same period in 2024, highlighting the divergence between operational performance and treasury activities. The company’s market capitalisation stood at $45 billion as of 29 July 2025, trading at a premium to its net asset value, which analysts attribute to investor enthusiasm for its Bitcoin exposure. Debt levels have risen accordingly, with outstanding convertible notes totalling $8.5 billion as of June 2025, carrying low interest rates but convertible at premiums that could dilute equity if exercised.
Benchmarking against peers, Strategy’s approach contrasts with other corporations like Tesla, which held 9,720 Bitcoin valued at $1.15 billion as of 30 June 2025, or Marathon Digital Holdings with 18,000 Bitcoin worth $2.1 billion. Strategy’s holdings equate to over 3% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply of 19.7 million coins as of July 2025, underscoring its outsized influence.
Risks and Market Sentiment
While the strategy has delivered substantial paper gains—with Bitcoin’s price rising 155% from $46,000 at the start of 2024 to $118,300 by late July 2025—it is not without risks. Saylor has acknowledged in public statements that a prolonged 90% decline in Bitcoin’s value could impair shareholder equity, potentially necessitating recapitalisation. Regulatory scrutiny remains a factor, particularly with evolving U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines on cryptocurrency accounting, though no material changes have impacted Strategy as of 29 July 2025.
Sentiment from verified accounts on platforms like X indicates strong support among cryptocurrency advocates, with discussions often highlighting Strategy’s purchases as bullish signals for Bitcoin’s price trajectory. Professional commentary from sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters emphasises the strategy’s role in legitimising Bitcoin for institutional investors, though some analysts caution about over-reliance on a single asset class.
Forward-Looking Projections
Analyst forecasts from firms like Bernstein project Strategy could acquire an additional 100,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2026, assuming continued access to capital markets and Bitcoin prices stabilising above $100,000. Company guidance, as outlined in its July 2025 filings, includes plans to issue up to 5 million shares of preferred stock to fund further purchases, potentially raising $2.5 billion.
Based on historical patterns and quantitative data from 2020–2025, an AI-derived projection estimates Strategy’s holdings could reach 800,000 Bitcoin by mid-2026 if quarterly acquisitions average 50,000 coins, contingent on Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate of 50% persisting. This forecast assumes no major macroeconomic disruptions, such as tightened monetary policy, which could compress valuations.
In the broader macroeconomic context, Strategy’s moves align with increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin, evidenced by spot ETF inflows exceeding $20 billion in the first half of 2025. This positions the company as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure, with its stock performance correlating 85% to Bitcoin’s price over the past year.
Conclusion
Strategy’s Bitcoin investment thesis continues to evolve, blending ideological conviction with financial engineering to amass a treasury that dwarfs its operational scale. As Bitcoin navigates regulatory and market uncertainties, the company’s strategy serves as a litmus test for corporate cryptocurrency adoption, with implications extending to global asset allocation trends.
References
- AInvest. (2025, July 28). Bitcoin News Today: Michael Saylor Maintains 607,770 BTC Stake with 1550% Gain as Bitcoin Portfolio Hits $72 Billion Valuation. Retrieved from https://www.ainvest.com/news/bitcoin-news-today-michael-saylor-maintains-607-770-btc-stake-1550-gain-bitcoin-portfolio-hits-72-billion-valuation-2507/
- Amina Group. (n.d.). Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Bitcoin Trade. Retrieved from https://aminagroup.com/research/michael-saylors-microstrategy-bitcoin-trade/
- Bitcoin Magazine [@BitcoinMagazine]. (2025, February 26). JUST IN: MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 3,000 Bitcoin for $155 million [Post]. X. https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1891958022546588096
- Bitcoin Magazine [@BitcoinMagazine]. (2025, March 11). JUST IN: MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 12,000 Bitcoin for $821.7 million [Post]. X. https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1897984242967003326
- Bitcoin Magazine [@BitcoinMagazine]. (2025, March 19). JUST IN: MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 9,245 Bitcoin for $623 million [Post]. X. https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1899068312522203340
- Bitcoin Magazine [@BitcoinMagazine]. (2025, July 29). Strategy bought 21,021 bitcoin for $2.46 BILLION [Post]. X. https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1947391183401193577
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- Bloomberg. (2025, July 24). Michael Saylor’s Strategy Increased the Size of Its Raise to $2 Billion to Buy More Bitcoin. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/
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- Fortune. (2025, May 15). Michael Saylor says Strategy may issue preferred stock to buy more bitcoin if it becomes clear the market wants the company to be a ‘leveraged bitcoin fund’. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2025/05/15/michael-saylor-strategy-microstrategy-bitcoin-crypto-preferred-stock-market-shareholders-equity/
- Fortune Crypto. (2025, March 31). Strategy ends quarter with biggest Bitcoin purchase of year. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/03/31/microstrategy-strategy-michael-saylor-bitcoin-1-9-billion/
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- OneSafe. (n.d.). A Deep Dive Into Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy For MicroStrategy. Retrieved from https://www.onesafe.io/blog/michael-saylor-bitcoin-strategy-microstrategy
- SaylorTracker. (n.d.). MicroStrategy Bitcoin Holdings Chart. Retrieved from https://saylortracker.com/
- Strategy Inc. (2025, June 30). Quarterly Earnings Report. Retrieved from https://www.strategy.com/investors
- The Economic Times. (2025, July 29). Michael Saylor’s Strategy owns 3% of Bitcoin in circulation after latest purchase. Retrieved from https://m.economictimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/crypto-news/michael-saylors-strategy-owns-3-of-bitcoin-in-circulation-after-latest-purchase/amp_articleshow/122848301.cms
