MicroStrategy said it bought US$209 million ($284.07 million) of Bitcoin, marking the eighth consecutive week of purchases for the dot-com-era software-maker turned leveraged proxy for the original cryptocurrency.
Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman of the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm, has focused on increasing MicroStrategy’s holdings of Bitcoin. This strategy has led the company to a market capitalisation of more than US$80 billion, helping it to join the Nasdaq 100 Index last week.
MicroStrategy purchased 2,138 Bitcoin tokens at an average price of approximately US$97,837 from Dec 23 through Dec 29, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Bitcoin prices have dropped back from highs above US$100,000 earlier in December, yet MicroStrategy has still reduced the amount of Bitcoin it purchases weekly.
The Bitcoin treasury company aims to raise US$42 billion of capital over the next three years through at-the-market stock sales and convertible debt offerings for the purpose of buying more of the cryptocurrency. The company has already surpassed two-thirds of its equity goals in two months, putting it on track to complete its capital goals well ahead of schedule.
See also: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF posts record outflow after banner year
Hedge funds have been driving some of the demand as they seek out MicroStrategy for convertible arbitrage strategies by buying the bonds and selling the shares short, essentially betting on the underlying stock’s volatility.
MicroStrategy is seeking permission to increase the number of authorised shares of Class A common stock and preferred stock to further its capital plan, according to a proxy statement filed last week.
Chart: Bloomberg
