MicroStrategy (MSTR), a business software company, is the largest public holder of bitcoin (BTC) at a 25% gain in value, or over $1.1 billion, due to the asset’s recent surge in price.
Holdings of Bitcoin at the business started by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who frequently tweets about his support for the biggest cryptocurrency, topped $5.7 billion late on Thursday, the first time the price of the coin crossed $37,000 since May 2022.
The company invested company funds and proceeds from bond sales over a three-year period to acquire over 158,000 bitcoins. Currently, the holdings’ value is greater than 80% of MicroStrategy’s $7.1 billion market capitalization.
These holdings have cost a total of $4.6 billion, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. With 13,000 bitcoins valued at $500 million at current prices, miner Marathon Digital is the next largest institutional holder, with holdings more than ten times larger.
The most recent known acquisitions by MicroStrategy occurred in the weeks preceding September 24, when it acquired 5,445 bitcoins at an average price of $27,053 each, for less than $150 million.
The expectation that U.S. regulators will approve exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold Bitcoin has caused the price of the leading cryptocurrency to soar recently. Some experts believe this will lead to a rush of capital investing in BTC.