MicroStrategy BTC paper loss hits $1.3B but no plans to stop trading bitcoin

MicroStrategy registered $34 million in its first-ever bitcoin sale.
The company registered a paper loss of over 1 billion in 2022.
MicroStrategy made its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020.

Despite making a paper loss of about $1.3 billion in 2022, MicroStrategy’s chief financial officer, Andrew Kang, said that the company will continue trading bitcoin. During a presentation for the Q4 2022 financial results webnier, Kang said:

“We may consider pursuing additional transactions that may take advantage of the volatility in Bitcoin prices, or other market dislocations that are consistent with our long-term Bitcoin strategy.”

The company’s stand on digital currencies comes at a time the crypto market is witnessing considerable recovery from last year’s plunge although it is not clear if digital currencies will ever reclaim their previous highs.

Microstrategy bitcoin investment

Microstrategy made its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020 acquiring 21,454 BTC in what it described as a “capital allocation strategy.” The company has been accumulating bitcoins since then and by December 24 2022 it had as much as 132,500 BTC worth $4.027 billion according to Microstrategy bitcoin statistics on the Buy Bitcoin Worldwide website.

In the presentation on February 2023, Kang confirmed that Microstrategy holds 132,500 bitcoin that are worth about $1.84 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022.

In the last quarter, MicroStrategy made a loss of $34 million after making its first-ever Bitcoin sale. The company made the decision to sell some of its bitcoins to recoup some tax losses.

Microstrategy co-founder Michael Saylor said Bitcoin is one of the most important benchmarks that it uses to measure its stock performance against. He said that the company’s stock has risen by 117% since August 2020 compared to the bitcoin price which has risen by 98% in the same period.

In an interview with a popular news outlet, Saylor said:

“The only real safe haven for an institutional investor is Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the only universally acknowledged digital commodity, and so if you’re an investor, Bitcoin is your safe haven in this regard.”