Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has invested $250 million dollars into bitcoin, accumulating about 0.1 percent of the total supply.
Update: After this story was originally published, MicroStrategy increased its convertible note offering to $650 million. The article headline has been updated as well.
Software intelligence firm MicroStrategy announced in a press release its intent to privately offer $400 million in convertible senior notes so that it could buy more bitcoin.
"MicroStrategy intends to invest the net proceeds from the sale of the notes in bitcoin in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy pending the identification of working capital needs and other general corporate purposes," according to the release.
- MicroStrategy, led by CEO Michael Saylor, made headlines earlier this year when it invested $250 million to purchase 21,454 bitcoin (about 0.1 percent of all bitcoin that will ever exist).
- The press release clarified that the note sale is subject to market conditions and other factors, and that the notes will be unsecured and bear interest in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, beginning on June 15, 2021. The notes mature on December 15, 2025 and MicroStrategy may redeem them for cash on or after December 20, 2023.
- MicroStrategy "expects to grant the initial purchasers an option to purchase, within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes are first issued, up to an additional $60 million aggregate principal amount of the notes," per the release.
- Immediately following the announcement, some in the Bitcoin space noted the groundbreaking nature of the plan, noting that Saylor was leveraging tools within the traditional financial realm to invest in Bitcoin in an all but unprecedented way.