Following Bitcoin’s recent decline, attention has once again turned to publicly traded company MicroStrategy (now Strategy), known for its aggressive Bitcoin buying strategy under Chairman Michael Saylor.
To date, Saylor has led MicroStrategy in purchasing 528,185 BTC for a total cost of $35.63 billion, resulting in an average purchase price of $67,458 per Bitcoin. As of last data, the company’s holdings are valued at approximately $40.61 billion, with the current market price being approximately 12% below the company’s average purchase price.
Despite that position still being profitable on paper, a recent regulatory filing reveals increasing financial pressure on the company if market conditions worsen.
“Because Bitcoin constitutes a large portion of the assets on our balance sheet, if we are unable to obtain equity or debt financing on a timely basis, on favorable terms, or at all, we may be required to sell Bitcoin to meet our financial obligations, and we may be required to make such sales below our cost basis or at otherwise unfavorable prices,” the company said in an April 7 MicroStrategy document.
MicroStrategy expects to record an unrealized loss of close to $6 billion in the first quarter, but it expects to offset that with a $1.69 billion income tax benefit. Still, the statement cautioned that the company’s path to future profitability is uncertain, especially if Bitcoin prices continue to fall.
“A significant decline in the market value of our Bitcoin assets could adversely affect our ability to meet our financial obligations,” he added.
As of the end of March, MicroStrategy reported about $8 billion in debt and was making annual interest payments of $35 million in addition to annual stock dividend obligations of $150 million.
*This is not investment advice.
