Strategy has bought 950 Bitcoin for nearly $76 million, sending its total holdings to 846,000 as the cryptocurrency extended a sharp recovery. The purchase came as Bitcoin rose by more than 6% in 24 hours to almost $86,000, while shares in the company climbed by nearly 9% to $167.
The acquisition was Strategy’s first in roughly three weeks and reinforces the company’s position as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Its holdings amount to about 4% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply.
Strategy’s share price was also supported by its decision to spend $174 million buying back STRC, its dividend-paying preferred shares. The move reduces the company’s future payments to investors.
The latest buying marks a renewed return to accumulation after a turbulent period for the company and the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin fell as low as $58,000 in June, about 53% below its level of $125,000 last October, before recovering over the past month.
Strategy’s financial fortunes are closely tied to Bitcoin because of the size of its holdings, making its shares a proxy for the cryptocurrency. Michael Saylor, the company’s billionaire chairman, has long promoted a “never sell your Bitcoin” approach, although Strategy has sold Bitcoin four times in the past four months.
The company created STRC last year to raise cash from investors for further Bitcoin purchases as the cryptocurrency’s decline put pressure on its finances. Its preferred shares pay regular dividends, and Strategy has made two Bitcoin purchases since the cryptocurrency began to rebound.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at financial technology firm IG Group, said Strategy’s return to buying suggested it believed the recovery had gained enough support to continue.
“When you want to buy into a rising market, what August and September have given you is the potential for that to continue in a more sustained fashion. That’s just what Saylor and the rest of the team really want to see,” he said.
Beauchamp said the latest purchase was relatively modest compared with some of Strategy’s earlier acquisitions. However, he said the size of the deal did not necessarily indicate concern and could reflect an approach of adding Bitcoin gradually as its price rises.
What is driving the Bitcoin rally?
Renewed buying pressure emerged in mid-August after the US Treasury announced plans to double purchases of older long-term government bonds. Bitcoin had spent months in decline as investors concentrated on themes including artificial intelligence, but concerns over government bonds, higher yields and inflation helped revive interest in alternative assets.
“You always need a narrative to kickstart something,” Beauchamp said. “With Bessent’s moves back to treasuries, suddenly it seemed like this was sort of the dream scenario for Bitcoin.”
The rally continued as markets absorbed the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate increase. Bitcoin initially dropped to about $75,600 after Fed chair Kevin Warsh announced a quarter-point rise on September 16, wiping out gains made earlier in the month.
The fall was short-lived, however, and Bitcoin resumed its advance once the widely expected rate increase had taken place. With that uncertainty removed, Beauchamp said, “a more rational approach to the future applies”.
