Strategy Buys 17,994 BTC for $1.28B, Lifting Total Holdings to 738,731 Bitcoin

• Strategy acquired 17,994 BTC for US$1.28 billion between March 2 and March 8, paying an average of US$70,946 per coin.
• The purchase was funded roughly 70% through Class A common stock sales and 30% through Stretch Preferred Shares, bringing total Bitcoin reserves to 738,731 BTC acquired for approximately US$56 billion in aggregate.
• Strategy’s holdings represent about 3.7% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply, equal to more than five weeks of newly mined global output.

Strategy appears to be fulfilling Saylor’s promise of buying Bitcoin forever, no matter if it goes down 50% in a few weeks.

This time, the company bought a massive 17,994 Bitcoin batch for about US$1.28 billion (AU$1.88 billion).

According to the SEC filing, the BTC were bought between March 2 and March 8, lifting the firm’s total holdings to 738,731 BTC, the company said. The purchase adds to one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries in the market and leaves Strategy holding about 3.7% of the asset’s circulating supply.

Buying Bitcoin Below Cost Basis

The latest tranche was acquired at an average price of US$70,946 (AU$104,291) per coin. Bitcoin was trading near US$69,000 (AU$101,430) when the purchase was disclosed, below both the latest entry price and Strategy’s overall average cost of US$75,862 (AU$111,517) per BTC.

That puts the company’s full Bitcoin position, acquired for about US$56 billion (AU$82.32 billion), below its blended purchase price at current market levels.

Read more: Strategy Marks 100th Bitcoin Buy as BitMine Doubles Down on Ether Despite $8B Loss

Strategy funded the latest purchase through stock sales rather than cash alone. Class A common stock sales raised about US$900 million (AU$1.32 billion), while Stretch Preferred Share issuances brought in another US$377 million (AU$554 million). 

Over the previous seven weeks, the company had already raised roughly US$1.7 billion (AU$2.5 billion) from common stock and US$470 million (AU$691 million) from preferred shares to support ongoing Bitcoin buying.

The size of the purchase stands out against new supply. About 450 BTC are mined each day, or roughly 3,150 per week. Strategy’s latest acquisition was more than five times that weekly output.

The move also suggests a firmer accumulation policy. In the 2022 to 2023 downturn, the company was generally less aggressive when Bitcoin traded below its average cost. This latest purchase shows it is still willing to add even when the market remains under its cost basis.

Strategy said it had about US$2.25 billion (AU$3.31 billion) in cash reserves at the time of reporting, leaving room for further purchases. Its stock has fallen about 55% over the past year, even as the company has continued to expand its Bitcoin position through repeated weekly buys.

Related: Vitalik Buterin Sells Over $6M in ETH as Holdings Dip Below 225,000

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