MicroStrategy (MSTR.US), led by Michael Saylor, has invested nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin for the second consecutive week, doubling down on the cryptocurrency amid price declines. According to regulatory filings on Monday, the company purchased Bitcoin worth $980.3 million between December 8 and 14, marking its largest weekly acquisition since July and the first time since January it has added over 10,000 BTC in back-to-back weeks. The latest funding primarily came from an at-the-market offering of its Class A common stock. Critics argue that continuous share issuance dilutes existing shareholders' equity and erodes the stock's premium relative to its $59 billion Bitcoin holdings.
The Virginia-based firm also raised additional capital by selling three of its four classes of perpetual preferred stock. On Monday, MicroStrategy shares fell over 8% to $162.08 in New York, while Bitcoin briefly dropped 3.7% to $85,171 before recovering above $86,000 in early Asian trading—still down roughly 30% from its October all-time high of $126,000.
Saylor stated, "My company is built for Bitcoin maximalists. Only those who believe Bitcoin will win and appreciate by 30% annually would buy my stock." Despite earlier speculation about its potential removal from key indices, Nasdaq 100 retained MicroStrategy in its annual rebalance last Friday, easing immediate sell-off risks. The stock currently trades at a ~1.1x premium to its enterprise value.
Last week, MicroStrategy publicly urged MSCI to abandon a controversial proposal that would exclude "digital asset vault" firms with over 50% crypto exposure from MSCI global indices. In a formal letter to MSCI’s index committee, the company warned of "highly detrimental" market ripple effects if enacted. MSCI confirmed its final decision will be announced on January 15.