Strategy Buys Back In as Bitcoin Surges Above $85,000
Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, has bought 950 Bitcoin for nearly $76 million over the past week, according to its latest financial disclosure. This purchase marked the company's first acquisition of Bitcoin in roughly three weeks and lifted Strategy's total holdings to 846,000 Bitcoin.
The price of Bitcoin surged more than 6% over the past 24 hours to nearly $86,000, leading to a jump in Strategy shares of nearly 9% to $167. The company spent $174 million to repurchase STRC, its dividend-paying preferred shares, which helped boost its share price.
Strategy's vast Bitcoin holdings make its stock a proxy for the cryptocurrency. Saylor has long championed a 'never sell your Bitcoin' mantra, but in the past four months his company has sold Bitcoin four times. The latest rise in Bitcoin's price extends the cryptocurrency's recovery from a yearlong bear market.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group, believes that Strategy's return to buying suggests the company sees enough support for the cryptocurrency's recovery to resume accumulating it. He notes that the smaller buy may reflect a strategy of adding Bitcoin gradually as its price climbs.