Some analysts believe that MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy can only generate profits when digital currencies maintain sustained upward momentum.
MicroStrategy's stock performance has shown significant divergence from Bitcoin (BTC), drawing widespread investor attention to MSTR's "lagging" performance relative to Bitcoin.
Since August 2020, MicroStrategy has allocated funds to Bitcoin, making its stock MSTR widely viewed as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin in the market. However, the investment community generally considers MSTR's stock performance to be "lagging" behind Bitcoin.
In 2025, Bitcoin has continued to reach new all-time highs, touching $124,277.5 on August 14. In contrast, MSTR's most recent peak was $543 per share on November 21, 2024.
To explain the price differential between MSTR and Bitcoin, Marty Kendall developed a "ballistic acceleration model" at the end of 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a substantial increase in global retail investors. Data from Crypto.com shows that global cryptocurrency holders tripled in 2021, growing from approximately 100 million to over 300 million. Between 2022 and 2024, the number of cryptocurrency holders doubled again.
Vanda Research reports indicate that pre-pandemic retail daily net inflows averaged $300-400 million, surging to over $1.4 billion daily at the 2023 peak. JPMorgan data shows that in January 2023, retail trading accounted for nearly a quarter of total U.S. stock market trading volume, reaching a historic high.
The retail investment boom was driven by multiple factors, including massive fiscal stimulus programs implemented by governments in 2020 that injected liquidity into households, and pandemic lockdowns that increased individuals' discretionary time. Simultaneously, brokers and cryptocurrency exchanges lowered investment barriers through zero-commission or low-commission models and instant account opening features. Post-pandemic, both stock and digital asset prices in various countries achieved significant returns, attracting investors driven by "FOMO (fear of missing out)" to chase gains.