One year ago today, software company MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced its new treasury strategy by adopting Bitcoin. Led by Michael Saylor, it was the first U.S.-based public company to integrate BTC as a reserve asset. Its decision changed the crypto industry and provided the fuel needed for a fresh rally.
After MicroStrategy revealed its treasury strategy, Bitcoin gained strength as a store of value. In March 2020, the global and crypto market experienced a crash due to the lockdown measures imposed by governments to tried to stop the spread of Covid-19.
This led to a slowdown in the global economy and the adoption of inflationary monetary policies from the main central banks in the U.S., Europe, and China. As MicroStrategy claimed in its first press release about Bitcoin as part of their treasury, the cryptocurrency offers public companies the opportunity to hold an independent asset from these policies.
The first purchase announced by MicroStrategy consisted of around 21,000 BTC for over $250 million, when Bitcoin was below $10,000. Since that moment, the company has been accumulating the cryptocurrency at an average of 3.7 BTC every week for a total of 14 purchases, on-chain analyst Willy Woo said.
Additional data provided by BTC Treasuries indicates that MicroStrategy holds over 100,00 BTC or 0.5% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply. This makes it the public company with the most Bitcoin on its treasury.
Updates:
Total ₿1,651,245 (7.88%)
Value $75,191,603,125$MSTR ▲1.7x$TSLA ▲1.3x$SQ ▲1.7x$MARA ▲1.5x
Hut-8 ▲4.1x$BITF ▲4.5x$RIOT ▲7.2x
VYGR ▲7.1x@Seetee_io 0.9xsrc https://t.co/7lHaYqHtbz by @nvk pic.twitter.com/oPiFNWKVu1
— BitcoinTreasuries.NET (@BTCtreasuries) August 9, 2021
Many experts believe that the software company started a movement by publishing the Playbook used to integrate with BTC. Briefly, after launching their new treasury strategy, the CEO of MicroStrategy held a conference to teach other publicly traded companies how to buy Bitcoin and place it on their balance sheets.
The event was called “Bitcoin for Corporations” and its fruits impacted the crypto market in late 2020 and early 2021. During this period, many other public companies in the U.S. adopted BTC or got involved in the crypto industry via different investment tools.
The Beginning Of A New Wave Of Bitcoin Adoption
After a major rally from $10,000, breaking above its previous all-time high at $20,000, Bitcoin seemed stuck at $38,000. However, an interaction between Saylor and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, led to a massive investment in Bitcoin by these companies.
As a consequence, BTC’s price jump to its current ATH at $64,000, and many companies, and giants in traditional finances, from Goldman Sachs to JP Morgan, jump into the BTC wagon. MicroStrategy shares have benefited from this new wave of adoption and BTC appreciation.
Data from Ecoinometrics records a 454% increase in the price of MSTR since the launch of their BTC treasury program. Meanwhile, BTC records a 300% increase versus a 38.2% profit in NASDAQ over the same period.
In a short span of time, MicroStrategy and its CEO Michael Saylor have contributed to the adoption of Bitcoin at an institutional level, more than other entities with more years in the space. The software company legitimized the cryptocurrency.
Investing in Bitcoin was no longer associated with people looking to make a quick profit, the cryptocurrency became a store of value, a reserve asset used to hedge against a macroeconomic landscape plagued with uncertainty. In celebration of their first years with BTC on its treasury, Saylor said:
My rookie year playing for the #Bitcoin Cyber Hornets is officially over. I want to thank my teammates for all the support and coaching they have provided to help me along the way.
At the time of writing, BTC trades at $44,291 with a 4.8% loss in the daily chart.
