Microstrategy to Sell $1 bn in Stock to Buy More Bitcoin

After announcing a $500 million bitcoin purchase, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy said it may also sell up to $1 billion of its stock for the same reason.

In a Monday S-3 filing for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, MicroStrategy said it would be launching an “at the market” securities offering which would allow it to sell up to $1 billion of its Class A Common stock over time. The firm said it intended to use the proceeds from the offering “for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin does not pay interest or other returns and so ability to generate a return on investment from the net proceeds from this offering will depend on whether there is appreciation in the value of Bitcoin following our purchases of Bitcoin with the net proceeds from this offering,” said the filing. “Future fluctuations in Bitcoin trading prices may result in our converting Bitcoin purchased with the net proceeds from this offering into cash with a value substantially below the net proceeds from this offering.”

MicroStrategy’s bitcoin trove is so big that owning the cryptocurrency is now described in the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as being part a key part of the firm’s strategy. As of last week, the company held 92,079 bitcoin, worth more about $3.68 billion at the time of writing. With his latest capital raises, Saylor could bring that total to north of $5 billion.

MicroStrategy Chief Executive Officer Michael Saylor has been one of the most vocal corporate advocates of Bitcoin.

The flagship cryptocurrency has been trading formly above the $40,000 psychological threshold after a streak of positive news including El Salvador making it a legal tender and revealing plans to use energy from volcanoes to mine the cryptocurrency. Also, renowned hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones spoke in favour of the cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC. The ultimate boost shower came after Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted that the electric automaker had not outrightly abandoned bitcoin, and would resume accepting it once it becomes more environment-friendly.