According to a recent regulatory filing, MicroStrategy, a business intelligence company, recently announced that it had purchased approximately 2,395 bitcoins at a price of $42.8 million. This was between Nov. 1, and Dec. 21, according the MicroStrategy announcement.
Their total number of coins now stands at approximately 132,500, with a purchase price of almost $4 billion and an average coin cost of $30,000.
The company also sold 704 bitcoins at a loss of $11.8 million on Dec. 22, in order to receive a tax benefit. This is the first time that the company has sold Bitcoin. After Michael Saylor, former CEO of MicroStrategy, stated that the company would never sell its stash this year .
MicroStrategy invested in Bitcoin for the first time in August 2020. MicroStrategy stated at the time that Bitcoin was a stable store of value and better suited for preserving wealth than cash or other cash options. They also felt that the cryptocurrency’s continued development could offer higher returns than traditional investments like stocks and government bonds.
MicroStrategy was initially viewed as a success but suffered a huge setback in 2022 with its large Bitcoin bet. Now, the company has Bitcoin-related paper losses exceeding $1 billion.
Saylor, who was reported by U.Today in August, resigned as the company’s chief executive officer. He is still a strong Bitcoin advocate, even though his gambles have backfired.