(Bloomberg) — Just over a month after announcing plans to raise $21 billion through stock sales to help fund additional purchases of Bitcoin, MicroStrategy Inc. is already almost halfway to its goal.
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The company sold 3.7 million shares over the past week and used the proceeds to buy another $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, the fourth consecutive weekly purchase announced by the crypto hedge fund proxy.
The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm has only approximately $11.3 billion of stock issuance under its so-called at-the-market share program left to reach its three year goal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company also aims to raise $21 billion through fixed income securities by 2027 and has been increasing those offerings as well.
MicroStrategy acquired 15,400 tokens for an average price of approximately $95,976 from Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, according to an US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday. The firm has purchased over $13.5 billion since Nov. 11, and now holds around $38 billion in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy co-founder and Chairman Michael Saylor has captured the attention of Wall Street by turning the enterprise software maker into what he calls a “Bitcoin Treasury” company. The firm’s shares have surged more than 500% this year, outperforming almost every other major stock. MicroStrategy has been funding the sales through the sale of convertible notes and at-the-market share offerings.
Other companies are seeking to emulate this strategy. MARA Holdings Inc., a crypto mining company, announced on Monday that it had acquired $618 million worth of Bitcoin over the past two months. The company also announced a $700 million convertible senior note offering, with some of the net proceeds going toward buying more Bitcoin.
Crypto mining stocks have underperformed this year after the reward for mining Bitcoin was cut in half in April. This lead to miners like MARA, holding onto Bitcoin and purchasing new tokens under this Bitcoin treasury strategy. MARA’s shares dropped as much as 44% earlier this year, but are now up 8% year-to-date.
Riot Platforms Inc., another mining company, announced earlier this year that it planned to temporarily halt the sale of the Bitcoin it mined and increase its Bitcoin holdings. The company’s shares are down 20% so far this year after falling as much as 59% in September.
–With assistance from Tom Contiliano.
(Adds context on share sales, beginning in the first paragraph.)
