Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) rose nearly 5% on Monday as investors reacted to the company’s latest bitcoin (BTC-USD) purchase and its upcoming addition to the Nasdaq 100.
The software company turned bitcoin whale said in a filing Monday morning that it had acquired another 15,350 bitcoins for $1.5 billion. The company now owns approximately 440,000 bitcoins.
MicroStrategy is the largest corporate investor in the cryptocurrency and is adopting Bitcoin as its main treasury reserve. The company has been buying bitcoins since the election of Donald Trump, whose crypto-friendly rhetoric and cabinet appointments have sent bitcoin’s value soaring as part of the so-called Trump trade.
About 40% of MicroStrategy’s bitcoin position was acquired in the past 40 days, Bernstein analysts wrote on Monday. In the past month alone, MicroStrategy purchased more than 100,000 bitcoins for $10.5 billion, according to SEC filings.
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high above $106,000 on Monday, rising more than 50% since Trump’s victory. Trump said earlier this month he would nominate crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing Gary Gensler, whose administration at the agency saw a massive crackdown on the cryptocurrency. The president-elect said he would create a new role in the White House for a “crypto czar” to oversee bitcoin policy, appointing former PayPal (PYPL) CEO David Sacks to the position.
MicroStrategy’s rise Monday was also fueled by a recent announcement that the stock will join the Nasdaq 100. MicroStrategy, along with Palantir (PLTR) and Axon Enterprise (AXON), will begin trading as part of the index on December 23, to replace Super Micro Computer. (SMCI), Moderna (MRNA) and Illumina (ILMN).
MicroStrategy began investing in bitcoin in 2020 with investments funded by equity, debt financing and own cash flows led by Michael Saylor, who served as CEO until 2022 before taking on the role of chairman.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of institutional adoption of Bitcoin,” CFO Andrew Kang said in the company’s Oct. 30 earnings call.
However, some question the company’s strategy. Short seller Citron Research said in November it had made a new bet on the stock, saying the stock has “completely disconnected from BTC fundamentals.”
Monday’s gains have sent MSTR stock up more than 580% this year.
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @LauraBratton5.
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