MicroStrategy CEO predicts that Bitcoin is ‘going up forever’

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The price of Bitcoin has more than doubled in 2021.

But according to MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, there’s still plenty of upsides ahead.

“Our view is [Bitcoin will] be volatile because it’s plugged into the entire crypto market and it’s new, but it’s going up forever,” Saylor told CNBC earlier this month.

Saylor continues to put his company’s money where his mouth is. In Q3, MicroStrategy purchased 9,000 bitcoins, bringing its total bitcoin count to 114,042. At the current price, that stash is worth roughly $7.4 billion.

Year to date, Bitcoin is up 128 per cent while MicroStrategy shares have surged 103 per cent.

Of course, MicroStrategy isn’t the only company that has bitcoins on its balance sheet.

Here’s a look at three other companies that have also loaded up on cryptocurrency.

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Tesla (TSLA)

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This is the most obvious one. When the electric vehicle giant revealed that it had stockpiled more than $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February, the news sent the cryptocurrency soaring.

In July, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company-owned “close to” 42,000 bitcoins.

It’s certainly a sizable stake, but nothing too significant relative to Tesla’s size.

Thanks to a more than 10-fold increase in its stock price since the beginning of 2020, Tesla’s market cap has surpassed the $1 trillion mark.

As you might expect from that kind of rally, Tesla’s business is growing rapidly.

In Q3, revenue totalled 13.76 billion, representing a 57 per cent increase year over year. Meanwhile, net income clocked in at $1.62 billion, up 389 per cent from the year-ago period.

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Looking ahead, the EV manufacturer expects to achieve “50 per cent average annual growth in vehicle deliveries” over a multi-year time horizon.

To be sure, Tesla currently trades at over $1,100 per share. But you can get a piece of the company using a free stock trading app like Wealthsimple that allows you to buy fractions of shares with as much money as you are willing to spend.

Square (SQ)

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Square co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey have long been a proponent of Bitcoin.

In fact, his hopes for cryptocurrency extend beyond its financial capabilities.

“My hope is that it creates world peace or helps create world peace,” Dorsey said during a “B World” webinar in July.

Square owns 8,027 bitcoins, worth approximately $531 million today.

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Shares of the digital payments technologist have traded sideways for most of 2021, but the business itself has shown plenty of improvement.

In Q3, gross profit grew 43 per cent year over year to $1.13 billion as revenue increased 27 per cent to $3.84 billion.

During the quarter, Square also announced two fresh Bitcoin initiatives: a consumer Bitcoin hardware wallet and a Bitcoin mining system.

“Both are focused on helping Bitcoin reach a mainstream audience while at the same time, strengthening the network and ecosystem,” Dorsey said in the conference call with analysts.

Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA)

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With a market cap of roughly $7.5 billion, Marathon Digital is substantially smaller than Square and Tesla. But Bitcoin investors shouldn’t ignore it.

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Marathon is a cryptocurrency miner. Year to date, its mining fleet has produced approximately 2,516 self-mined bitcoins.

While some Bitcoin miners might be tempted to sell their coins amid this crypto rally, Marathon simply hoards them — an act known as holding on for dear life, or “HODL”, to crypto enthusiasts.

In fact, the company hasn’t sold any bitcoins since October 2020. It even purchased 4,812.66 bitcoins in January 2021 at an average price of $31,168 per coin.

As a result of continued accumulation, Marathon has about 7,453 bitcoins today, a stake worth over $490 million.

Unsurprisingly, the stock has done extremely well amid the current crypto boom. Year to date, Marathon shares are up a staggering 591 per cent.

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Bitcoin or Banksy?

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You can always just buy Bitcoin directly.

Today, many exchanges charge up to 4 per cent in commission fees just to buy and sell crypto. But some investing apps like Weathsimple charge far less and allow you to start with as little as $1 .

Of course, if you want to invest in something that has little correlation with the ups and downs of the crypto market, consider a real, but overlooked asset like fine art .

Contemporary artwork has already outperformed the S&P 500 by a commanding 174 per cent over the past 25 years, according to the Citi Global Art Market chart.

Investing in art by the likes of Banksy and Andy Warhol used to be an option only for the ultra-rich.

But with a new investing platform , you can invest in iconic artworks, too, just like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates do.

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