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MicroStrategy's $2 billion Bitcoin purchase is its largest since 2020

(Bloomberg) — MicroStrategy Inc. bought about 27,200 bitcoin for about $2.03 billion, the crypto hedge fund proxy's biggest purchase since shortly after it began purchasing the digital asset more than four years ago.

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The business software maker, whose corporate strategy now includes purchasing the cryptocurrency, purchased the tokens between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10, according to a statement on Monday. This is the largest amount of tokens purchased since the company announced in December 2020 that it had acquired 29,646 Bitcoin.

Michael Saylor, co-financier and chairman of MicroStrategy, decided to invest in Bitcoin in 2020 as a hedge against inflation. The company initially used cash for the purchases and has now moved to using proceeds from the issuance and sale of shares and from the sale of convertible bonds to strengthen its purchasing power.

The strategy, along with the rise in Bitcoin's value, has helped MicroStrategy outperform all major U.S. stocks, including AI leader Nvidia Corp., since mid-2020. MicroStrategy stock is up more than 2,500% since August 2020. Bitcoin is up around 660% over the same period.

The latest purchase pushed MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings to around $24 billion, based on the digital currency's record price on Monday of more than $86,500. Bitcoin has received a boost from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's embrace of the asset class. MicroStrategy is the largest publicly traded company holder of Bitcoin, alongside BlackRock's US exchange traded fund.

As of Nov. 10, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company, together with its subsidiaries, held approximately 279,420 Bitcoin, valued at a total of approximately $11.9 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $42,692 per Bitcoin, including fees and expenses .

Shares of the company rose as much as 24% to a record $335 on Monday. This surpassed the previous all-time high from March 2000, when MicroStrategy was one of the most popular stocks during the so-called Internet bubble.

Saylor was one of three MicroStrategy executives who agreed in December 2000 to pay $11 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that had caused the company to report its 21st quarter financial results had been inflated for months.

(Updates say the stock price rose to an all-time high in the penultimate paragraph.)

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