Software firm MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, acquired 31,755 bitcoins in the fourth quarter of 2023 for an average cost of $39,411 per coin, bringing its total holdings to 190,000 bitcoins, the company announced on Tuesday.
Those 190,000 bitcoins were acquired for a total cost of $5.93 billion at an average cost of $31,224 per bitcoin, and were worth a total of $8.05 billion and an average of $42,531 per coin at the end of December.
Read more: Should You Sell MicroStrategy Now That Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Available?
MicroStrategy also recorded an impairment charge of $39.2 million on its bitcoin holdings in the fourth quarter, reflecting a decline in the value of some of its bitcoin in the quarter. A new accounting rule allows companies to record unrealized gains, as well as losses, on their digital assets, but companies have until 2025 to put the change into place and MicroStrategy has not done so yet.
The company began acquiring bitcoin for its corporate treasury in August 2020 and has been steadily increasing its holdings since then, typically funding its purchases through at-the-market offerings of its shares.
MicroStrategy said its purchase of bitcoin in the fourth quarter was its largest quarterly bitcoin holding increase in the last three years, and the 13th straight quarter of adding more bitcoin to its balance sheet.
MicroStrategy’s stock has been an extremely strong performer over the last few years but is down about 21% so far in 2024, potentially because the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in early January has reduced the appeal of investing in MicroStrategy as a proxy for bitcoin.
