Born as a software company, MicroStrategy’s struggling business journey came to a radical change when it began acquiring Bitcoin. Year after year, MicroStrategy’s BTC stake grew to $5.5 billion as of November 2023.
Michael Saylor, the company’s co-founder, has built a fortune on his investments in various sectors, owning almost 18,000 BTC and an estimated wealth of $1.4 billion.
So, how many Bitcoins does MicroStrategy own? This article will provide the statistics and compare this number to the overall market.
Top 5 Facts on MicroStrategy
Here is a section of 5 must-know details among the many interesting facts about MicroStrategy ($MSTR):
- As of November 2023, MicroStrategy owns 158,400 Bitcoin.
- Its co-founder, Michael Saylor, owns 17,732 BTC in his wallet. (Forbes)
- MicroStrategy only sold BTC once, selling 704 coins in December 2022. (SEC)
- The company’s average purchase price for BTC is $29,970. (Ailtra)
- MicroStrategy holds 65.6% of the Bitcoin held by all the publicly traded companies (BuyBitcoinWorldwide)
| Date | BTC Amount |
|---|---|
| November 2023 | 158,400 |
| October 2023 | 158,400 |
| September 2023 | 158,245 |
| August 2023 | 152,800 |
| July 2023 | 152,333 |
| May 2023 | 140,000 |
| April 2023 | 140,000 |
| March 2023 | 138,955 |
| January 2023 | 132,500 |
| Pre 2023 | 132,500 |
MicroStrategy’s Total Bitcoin Holdings
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin accumulation plan has led the company, one SEC reporting after another, to own a large amount of BTC in its investment portfolio. It’s not surprising that the company’s co-founder, Michael Saylor, also owns a relevant number of Bitcoin in his personal wallet.
As of November 2023, MicroStrategy holds 158,400 BTC in its corporate investment portfolio.
Microstrategy purchase history
This number represents a slight increase from the latest reported information, which mentioned 158,245 BTC in September 2023.
On August 8th, 2023, MicroStrategy reported 152,800 BTC to the US SEC, hinting at its intention to pursue its Bitcoin accumulation plan.
This marked a significant increase compared to April 5, 2023, when MicroStrategy reported 140,000 BTC.
The 2022 year ended with MicroStrategy holding 132,500 BTC within its balance sheet.
In the second part of 2022, the company chose to temporarily slow down its Bitcoin rate of purchase: in June 2022, MicroStrategy held 129,699 BTC, meaning that only 2,801 tokens were bought in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.
In January 2022, as a comparison, MicroStrategy announced it owned 125,051 BTC.
Back in June 2021, the company only held 105,085 BTC in its wallets.
Indeed, 2021 was a big year for MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holding: in March 2021, the company reported 91,064 BTC.
Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s co-founder, reportedly owns 17,732 BTC in his wallet, a bulk purchase that occurred in October 2020.
Saylor’s personal amount of Bitcoin required an investment of $175 million.
Source: BuyBitcoinWorldwide, Forbes
| Date | Bitcoin Return | MSTR Return |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-01-31 | 14.8% | 1.4% |
| 2023-02-28 | 14.8% | 5.7% |
| 2023-03-31 | 41.3% | 17.8% |
| 2023-04-30 | 45.2% | 32.3% |
| 2023-05-31 | 35.0% | 21.5% |
| 2023-06-30 | 51.2% | 37.9% |
| 2023-07-31 | 45.0% | 76.4% |
| 2023-08-31 | 28.6% | 44.0% |
| 2023-09-30 | 33.8% | 32.3% |
| 2023-10-31 | 72.0% | 70.6% |
A Look at MicroStrategy’s BTC Transactions
MicroStrategy’s BTC purchases were continuous but far from being regular in size and price. Due to the necessity of covering capital costs, the company made only one small Bitcoin sale in its business life.
As of November 2023, MicroStrategy’s highest single purchase in the number of BTC occurred on December 21st, 2020, with 29,646 Bitcoin.
In monetary terms, however, the highest single purchase made by the company happened on February 24th, 2021, with 19,452 BTC bought for $1.026 billion.
With the purchase reported on November 1st, 2023, the total value of BTC held by MicroStrategy hit $5.5 billion.
In terms of mean cost, MicroStrategy holds Bitcoin at an average price of $29,970.
Compared to the BTC price on November 1st, 2023, this meant that MicroStrategy had a virtual profit of $5,467 on each coin in its portfolio.
This was not always the case, as the company’s BTC position has been losing for 11 consecutive months from June 2022.
Since the 2022 crypto market, MicroStrategy’s BTC portfolio has only briefly managed to record virtual profits 3 times (May 2023, July 2023, and November 2023).
Since 2020, MicroStrategy has only sold BTC once, on December 28, 2022. The company sold 704 Bitcoin, obtaining $11.8 million in proceeds.
Source: BuyBitcoinWorldwide, Ailtra, SEC
MicroStrategy’s BTC Holdings vs. the Rest of the Market
Perhaps the most impressive statistic on MicroStrategy is that the MSTR holds the majority of BTC in the hands of publicly traded companies. This means that MicroStrategy has a BTC stake larger than most ETFs and world governments.
MicroStrategy’s BTC holding is equal to 65.6% of the total amount of Bitcoin held by publicly traded companies worldwide as of November 2023.
To gain a better perspective on MicroStrategy’s dominance, the second-ranked company, Marathon Digital Holdings, only holds 13,726 BTC.
Despite selling 75% of its BTC holdings in 2021, Elon Musk’s Tesla still holds 10,725 Bitcoin in its wallet.
The first non-US company in this ranking is the Canadian Hut 8 Mining, with its 9,366 BTC.
Coinbase is the first publicly traded crypto exchange by Bitcoin holding, thanks to its 9,000 BTC.
Europe lags behind these players regarding BTC holding, with the first publicly traded company in the ranking being Germany’s Bitcoin Group SE, at 3,830 BTC.
In the Asian market, Japan’s NEXON is moving down the ranking, with a total amount of reported BTC equal to 1,717.
If we move to South America, only MercadoLibre, in Argentina, holds Bitcoin in its balance sheet (150 BTC).
ETFs and governments Bitcoin holdings
On a global scale, there exists only 1 ETF – Grayscale Bitcoin Trust – owning more Bitcoin than MicroStrategy, with a stake of 643,572 BTC.
In the public sector, only the US and Chinese government’s BTC holdings are above MicroStrategy’s portfolio with, respectively, 207,189 and 194,000 Bitcoin.
Source: BuyBitcoinWorldwide, SEC, Coindesk, Benzinga
| Entity | BTC Holdings |
|---|---|
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF | 643,572 |
| US Government | 207,189 |
| Chinese Government | 194,000 |
| MicroStrategy | 158,400 |
| Marathon Digital Holdings | 13,726 |
| Tesla | 10,725 |
| Canadian Hut 8 Mining | 9,366 |
| Coinbase | 9,000 |
| Bitcoin Group SE | 3,830 |
| NEXON | 1,717 |
| MercadoLibre | 150 |
Conclusion
MicroStrategy’s multi-billionaire stake in Bitcoin is part of a large investment diversification strategy designed by the company. $MSTR owns more BTC than all the publicly traded companies combined.
The average dollar cost investment strategy designed by the company in the Bitcoin field has brought – as of November 2023 – a relevant profit to the firm. Even ETFs, except for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, hold less than MicroStrategy’s 158,400 BTC.
The multiple SEC reports filed by MicroStrategy state that the company’s intentions to scale up its BTC holdings will not change in the foreseeable future.
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As of November 2023, MicroStrategy holds 158,400 BTC.
MicroStrategy holds Bitcoin at an average price of $29,970.
Since 2020, MicroStrategy only sold BTC once, on December 28, 2022, when the company sold 704 Bitcoin, obtaining $11.8 million in proceeds.
No, as of November 2023, the US Government holds 207,189 Bitcoin in its balance sheet, while MicroStrategy owns 158,400 BTC.
Yes, MicroStrategy's CEO Michael Saylor has personally invested in Bitcoin and continues to advocate for its adoption. As of November 2023, it is estimated that he holds around 17,732 BTC.
Suchet Salvesen
Suchet is a Norwegian economist, entrepreneur, and investor, serving as the CFO and COO of Brainfund. With over a decade of experience in global expansion, venture capital, and emerging technologies, he earned his MBA from the NMBU School of Business & Economics. He held dual bachelor's degrees from the University of South-Eastern Norway. His career spans roles at NextToMe, Get, and Conax before joining Everipedia, now Brainfund, in 2017.
