Adds comments from analyst in paragraphs 5,6 and 9, update shares

By Prakhar Srivastava

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Billionaire Michael Saylor's bitcoin-focused firm Strategy MSTR.O said on Tuesday it bought about $2.13 billion worth of bitcoin over the past eight days, stepping up purchases even as its stock has been pressured by cryptocurrency volatility.

The company acquired roughly 22,305 bitcoin between the period of January 12 and January 19, according to a regulatory filing.

The purchases were funded using proceeds from the company’s at-the-market share offering program, Strategy said.

Shares of the company slid about 7.4%, while bitcoin BTC= fell 3.6%.

"Strategy is still buying Bitcoin because stopping would be as much a signal to the market as purchasing more," said Nic Puckrin, analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau.

If it stops, Saylor is essentially admitting that the balance sheet can't handle downward price pressure, potentially weighing on both Strategy's shares and broader bitcoin sentiment, given MSTR's close link with optimism around the cryptocurrency, Puckrin said.

Saylor said in an X post on Tuesday that Strategy holds 709,715 bitcoin as of January 19.

Earlier this month, Strategy reported an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion on its digital assets in the fourth quarter, reflecting a drop in the value of its bitcoin holdings in the quarter, a paper hit that has weighed on investor sentiment alongside sharp crypto-market swings.

Strategy is operating on a longer time horizon, focused on growing its bitcoin-per-share, quarterly results are no longer the right yardstick for the company, Puckrin added.

Strategy, which started out as software company MicroStrategy, began buying and holding bitcoin in 2020.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

((Prakhar.srivastava2@thomsonreuters.com;))