One among the largest stories on the markets to date this 12 months has been the introduction of the primary spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These first 11 ETFs that invest directly in bitcoin versus bitcoin futures have opened up the asset to a wholly latest segment of the investing public. As such, it’s probably not a coincidence that bitcoin has surged since they were launched on Jan. 11.
Of the brand new funds, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) has grown the fastest, picking up some $13.2 billion in assets under management already. It topped the $10 billion asset level faster than every other ETF in U.S. history.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust was briefly the most important institutional holder of bitcoin as of March 8 after a recent purchase that brought its total to about 196,000 bitcoin. Nonetheless, the most important corporate owner of bitcoin, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), has now joined the bitcoin arms race.
MicroStrategy adds 12,000 more bitcoin
MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm, has been buying up bitcoin at a rapid pace since 2020, when it made the strategic decision to make use of bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset.
Earlier this month, it offered about $800 million in convertible notes to purchase more bitcoin and add to its growing portfolio. At the moment, it had 193,000 bitcoin, but on March 11, the corporate announced one other purchase that lifted it above the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
In a press release, MicroStrategy management said the corporate had accomplished its $800 million offering and generated $782 million in net proceeds from the sale of the notes. As management had previously stated, those funds will likely be used to purchase additional bitcoin.
In a post on X afterward Monday, MicroStrategy founder and Chairman Michael Saylor wrote that the firm had acquired one other 12,000 bitcoin for $821.7 million using the proceeds from the convertible notes and a few excess money. The value per bitcoin was $68,477.
MicroStrategy has acquired a further 12,000 BTC for ~$821.7M using proceeds from convertible notes & excess money for ~$68,477 per #bitcoin. As of three/10/24, $MSTR hodls 205,000 $BTC acquired for ~$6.91B at average price of $33,706 per bitcoin. https://t.co/YayyKtpz8d
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) March 11, 2024
This increased MicroStrategy’s total to 205,000, making it again the most important institutional or corporate owner of bitcoin. Overall, MicroStrategy has made a $6.91 billion investment in bitcoin at a median price of $33,706 per bitcoin.
The acquisition also made MicroStrategy one in all the highest gainers on the stock market on Monday, as its stock price popped about 13% on the day to $1,611 per share. MicroStrategy stock has been on a rocket ship fueled by its bitcoin holdings, because the share price is up a whopping 135% 12 months so far from $685 per share at first of the 12 months.
During that point, the worth of bitcoin has hit an all-time record, currently sitting at $72,520 as of Monday at 12 p.m. Eastern. The value of bitcoin is up by about 65% YTD from roughly $44,172 per bitcoin on Jan. 1. On Monday, it was up greater than 5% and surpassed $70,000 for the primary time.
As for the iShares Bitcoin Trust, it probably won’t be long before it makes its next bitcoin purchase because it chases MicroStrategy. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF was up by about 5% on Monday, and because it launched on Jan. 11 at around $27.94 per share, it has returned about 49% climbing to $41.51 per share.
The 2024 boom in bitcoin has largely been fueled by institutional interest, which has broadened access to the asset via ETFs. With the bitcoin ETFs being added to more platforms and the cryptocurrency’s price surging, interest is just not prone to decelerate any time soon.
The interest has also brought on the subsequent bitcoin halving event, which is slated for April. Halving is a mechanism that seeks to manage the availability of bitcoin that’s mined, and when supply drops, demand normally increases.
As with every investment, particularly with one as volatile as bitcoin, investors ought to be cautious and consider any variety of aggressive growth investment as a comparatively small portion of a diversified portfolio.