How Much Bitcoin Does MicroStrategy Own?

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Pile Approaches 600K: Is It Bold Gambling or Smart Money Management?

MicroStrategy, once known for enterprise software, has strikingly transformed itself into a Bitcoin development advocate and a formidable treasury player, persistently adding more of the leading cryptocurrency to its holdings. So, how much Bitcoin does MicroStrategy own as of 2025? Filings from mid-May 2025 reveal the company, now commonly called Strategy, commands an impressive 576,230 BTC. They gathered this enormous sum by paying, on average, $66,384.56 for each coin, totaling a reported spend of $33.139 billion.

This unceasing drive to acquire Bitcoin highlights how deeply Executive Chairman Michael Saylor believes it’s the best asset for a company’s treasury, dubbing it “digital gold” as traditional currencies lose value. Starting in August 2020, MicroStrategy has funneled cash from operations, sold new stock, and, quite significantly, taken on large amounts of debt to buy more Bitcoin.

Crafting a Bitcoin Kingdom: Pivotal Moments

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin adventure kicked off with a significant move in August 2020, when they bought 21,454 BTC for $250 million. They quickly followed that up by snapping another 16,796 BTC just a month later. Come December 2020, the company dramatically increased its Bitcoin investments, partly by using convertible senior notes—a debt method they’d use again and again.

As Bitcoin’s value climbed throughout 2021, MicroStrategy kept expanding its crypto assets. In a somewhat minor but notable move, the company announced in December 2022 its first sale of Bitcoin—704 BTC—explaining it was for tax benefits. This small sale hardly changed their main goal of buying more, a pursuit that picked up serious speed through 2023 and into 2024.

The first few months of 2025 saw a major acceleration in their buying. After changing its name to “Strategy” in February 2025 to emphasize its Bitcoin commitment, the firm executed several substantial purchases. Between the end of March and April 27, 2025, their Bitcoin count jumped from around 528,185 to 553,555. They didn’t stop there; acquisitions in early May brought the figure to 555,450 BTC. In the latest spree, from May 12 to May 18, 2025, they tacked on another 7,390 bitcoins, spending about $764.9 million and paying a high average of $103,498 per coin.

Saylor’s Philosophy: Bitcoin’s Value in Scarcity

Several interconnected ideas, stemming from Saylor’s view of the global economy and his strong faith in Bitcoin’s unique qualities, explain this daring approach. Worried about inflation and how traditional cash savings were diminishing—what Saylor calls a “melting ice cube”—MicroStrategy looked for an asset that could offer better returns and protect against the falling value of government-issued money.

Bitcoin, with its hard cap of 21 million coins, resilience, ease of movement, lack of central control, and secure network, stood out as the top choice. Saylor often praises Bitcoin, claiming it’s “harder, stronger, faster, and smarter” than any money that came before, seeing it as digital property set to grow in value as more people use it. The company’s clear aim is to protect and grow its treasury funds, ultimately boosting what shareholders own in the long run. Consequently, MicroStrategy’s stock (MSTR) has turned into a well-known, though often unstable, way to invest in Bitcoin indirectly.

Funding the Bitcoin Mountain: A Versatile Strategy

MicroStrategy has tapped into various financial methods to pay for its Bitcoin buys:

* Company Cash: Early on, they used money they already had.
* Convertible Senior Notes: These have been a key funding source, offering low interest because investors hope to swap the debt for MSTR shares, especially if the stock price rises with Bitcoin.
* Senior Secured Notes: Although some have been paid back, these notes, which are guaranteed by company assets (but not Bitcoin already held by subsidiaries), have also contributed.
* Stock Sales: Through “at-the-market” (ATM) programs, MicroStrategy could sell its shares directly on the open market, raising money specifically to purchase more Bitcoin. The firm even detailed big, multi-year ambitions to gather billions more via stock and bond sales under its “21/21 Plan” (which was reportedly later broadened) to increase its Bitcoin stash.
* Perpetual Preferred Stock: More recently, talk of issuing perpetual preferred stock has emerged, with the money raised intended to make the company’s finances stronger and continue Bitcoin acquisitions.

All this financial maneuvering is designed to boost “Bitcoin Yield”—how much Bitcoin is behind each share—a figure the company likes to highlight.

A New Way to Report: Fair Value Accounting Arrives

How MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin gamble shows up in its financial statements changed dramatically on January 1, 2025, when new accounting rules (FASB’s ASU 2023-08) took effect. Before this, Bitcoin was classified as an intangible asset with an indefinite life; this meant the company had to record a loss if Bitcoin’s price dropped below what they paid, but couldn’t show paper profits until they actually sold. This often gave a distorted view of their finances.

The updated fair value accounting means shifts in Bitcoin’s market price, whether gains or losses, now directly hit the income statement every time they report. This makes their reported earnings jump around more, but it gives a truer, more up-to-date picture of what MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin is worth. Implementing this rule led to a large one-time boost to the company’s retained earnings, accounting for past paper gains they couldn’t previously show. On the flip side, it also means they can report huge paper losses if Bitcoin’s price drops within a quarter, as happened in the first quarter of 2025. This accounting change has also started debates about possible Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) on these paper gains, a tricky area MicroStrategy is still figuring out.

MSTR Stock: Bitcoin Investment with Extra Volatility

MicroStrategy’s stock price now closely follows Bitcoin’s, often acting like a higher-risk, higher-reward version of a Bitcoin investment. Many investors view MSTR as a straightforward way to get Bitcoin exposure using familiar stock markets. Because of this, MSTR frequently trades for much more than the combined value of its Bitcoin and its original software business. While this premium is great when Bitcoin is booming, it also means MSTR can fall harder than Bitcoin itself, and its price is affected by more than just Bitcoin, like how much debt the company has and what investors think of Saylor’s overall plan.

Market Clout and Concerns About Concentration

By owning nearly 3% of all Bitcoin currently available, MicroStrategy’s decisions—whether buying more or, if it ever happens, selling—can sway the market and Bitcoin’s price. While many see Saylor’s continuous buying as a positive sign that encourages big institutions to invest, having so much Bitcoin concentrated in one company does make some wonder about market fairness and that single company’s potential power.

Keeping the Digital Treasure Safe: Security Measures

MicroStrategy relies on U.S.-regulated third-party services to hold its massive Bitcoin collection. Alongside this, they have strong internal security, like offline “cold storage” and multi-signature wallets, to shield these assets from various dangers.

The Path Forward: Dangers and Dreams

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin plan certainly carries big risks. The fluctuating market price is the main concern; a major drop in Bitcoin’s value could severely damage the company’s finances and stock. Other crucial things to watch are changing government rules, online security dangers, the company’s dependence on Michael Saylor’s leadership (often called key-person risk), and the liquidity challenges that come with buying so much Bitcoin using debt.

Even with these hurdles, MicroStrategy’s plans for the future are still firmly tied to Bitcoin. The company intends to keep buying more Bitcoin, using funds from its bold capital-raising efforts. Saylor imagines using their Bitcoin holdings to earn income, perhaps as backing for more loans, and has even suggested Strategy could one day become a kind of “Bitcoin bank.”

Whether the company succeeds depends on Bitcoin’s price going up over time and on their skill in handling the ups and downs and financial tangles of their chosen strategy. For the moment, MicroStrategy is a daring test case in how corporations manage their money, a strong wager that Bitcoin will eventually win out as a worldwide reserve asset. The entire financial community is watching intently.