Strategy, fronted by outspoken Bitcoin bull and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, added to its sizable Bitcoin holdings Monday with the purchase of 20,356 BTC—or approximately $2 billion worth.
The purchase is the latest in a string of Bitcoin purchases dating back to 2020, when Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Saylor made the strategic decision to allocate capital to the leading cryptocurrency to “maximize long-term value for shareholders.”
Since that time, the business intelligence firm has reshaped itself into a Bitcoin development company and pioneered the crypto treasury reserve asset model that others have copied. It has also amassed more than 499,000 Bitcoin—more than $43 billion worth as of this writing—making it the largest corporate treasury reserve holder of the asset.
What Is Strategy (MSTR)? The Bitcoin Treasury Company
Today, Strategy is one of the most important institutions in cryptocurrency, but it didn’t start out that way. Originally called MicroStrategy, the company co-founded by Michael Saylor—one of the most influential figures in the world of Bitcoin—first made its mark in software. Now, however, it’s best known for its aggressive strategy of acquiring Bitcoin for its corporate reserves, with Saylor becoming a key figurehead for the institutional adoption of the asset. Here’s everything else you need...
Here’s a look back at Strategy’s seven largest Bitcoin purchases to date and their immediate impacts on the price of Bitcoin, marked from the time of Saylor’s announcements via social media.
#1) 55,500 BTC - November 25, 2024
Average Price: $97,862
Total Spend: $5.4 billion
Michael Saylor announced Strategy’s largest-ever purchase of Bitcoin, by both BTC and USD denominations, on November 25. The purchase of 55,500 Bitcoin surpassed its previous top acquisition by more than $800 million.
In the hours after the Saylor announcement, Bitcoin dropped by about $4,000 to under $94,000, a 4% decrease from the average price paid by Strategy.
MicroStrategy has acquired 55,500 BTC for ~$5.4 billion at ~$97,862 per #bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 35.2% QTD and 59.3% YTD. As of 11/24/2024, we hodl 386,700 $BTC acquired for ~$21.9 billion at ~$56,761 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/79ExzXk4UM
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) November 25, 2024
2) 51,780 BTC - Nov. 18, 2024
Average price: $88,627
Total spend: $4.6 billion
The second-largest Bitcoin purchase in Strategy history came just one week before its largest-ever purchase. Though Bitcoin dropped shortly in the hour following the announcement, a rebound followed, and it reached a daily high of $92,653, just 2% shy of its all-time high price (set last week), according to data from CoinGecko.
The following day, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high price above $94,000. Strategy’s latest purchase brought its holdings to 331,200 BTC.
3) 29,646 BTC - Dec. 21, 2020
Average price: $21,925
Total spend: $650 million
Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin purchase took place in December 2020 amid rising Bitcoin prices and bull market sentiment. The firm disclosed a purchase of 29,645 BTC for its fourth-ever Bitcoin acquisition.
Despite the purchase being the largest for Strategy at the time, Bitcoin price's was relatively unchanged in the 24 hours around the announcement. Data from CoinGecko showcases a Bitcoin open price of $23,518 on December 21, closing one day later at $23,795 for a negligible gain.
4) 27,200 BTC - Nov. 11, 2024
Average price: $74,463
Total spend: $2.03 billion
Less than one week after Donald Trump won his second election, Strategy announced a purchase of 27,200 Bitcoin. That stash was purchased during the timeframe of October 31 to November 10, a time in which Bitcoin ranged in price from $72,000 to $80,000.
However, following the Saylor announcement on the morning of November 11, Bitcoin moved violently upwards, closing the day at $88,637—a move of more than 10%—after setting yet another new all-time high price after the election.
The 10 Public Companies With the Biggest Bitcoin Portfolios
For many years, the idea that publicly traded corporations might buy Bitcoin for their reserves was considered laughable. The top cryptocurrency was considered too volatile, too fringe to be embraced by any serious business. That taboo has been well and truly broken, with a number of major institutional investors buying up Bitcoin in recent years. The floodgates first opened when cloud software company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) bought $425 million worth of Bitcoin in August and September...
5) 21,550 BTC - December 9, 2024
Average price: $98,783
Total spend: $2.1 billion
Strategy’s fifth largest purchase marks its highest-ever average Bitcoin price, having acquired more than 21,000 Bitcoin for nearly $99,000 on average. The buy brought up the average price of all its lifetime Bitcoin purchases to $60,389.
However, the market didn’t react super positively to the latest announcement from Saylor and the company, as the price of Bitcoin decreased by more than 2.5% in the hours that followed, dropping below the average price of its purchase to $97,600. On the following day, Bitcoin broke even further downward, dipping below $95,000 briefly before rebounding to that level
6) 21,454 BTC - August 11, 2020
Average price: $11,652
Total spend: $250 million
Strategy’s sixth-largest Bitcoin purchase of all time was its first-ever purchase and the lowest recorded average price.
On the back of social restrictions and macroeconomic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, Saylor rationalized the company’s purchase saying, “Our decision to invest in Bitcoin at this time was driven in part by a confluence of macro factors affecting the economic and business landscape that we believe is creating long-term risks for our corporate treasury program—risks that should be addressed proactively.”
While the purchase has aged well, now up nearly 700% at today’s Bitcoin price, the initial announcement meant little for Bitcoin’s price in the immediate aftermath. Bitcoin opened August 11, 2020 at $11,682 and closed the following day at $11,579—a negligible decline.
Strategy Adds $2 Billion Worth of Bitcoin in Biggest 2025 Buy Yet
Business intelligence software company Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, announced a nearly $2 billion Bitcoin purchase on Monday, adding 20,365 Bitcoin to its treasury at an average price of $97,514 per coin. The move was telegraphed last week when the firm announced its intentions to sell $2 billion of zero-coupon convertible bonds. Strategy said it would use the proceeds to purchase more Bitcoin as part of its “21/21” plan, with the firm intending to raise $42 billion over the next t...
7) 20,356 BTC - February 24, 2025
Average price: $97,514
Total spend: $1.99 billion
After rebranding to Strategy, Saylor’s firm made its seventh-largest Bitcoin purchase in early 2025, adding 20,356 Bitcoin for $1.99 billion. The addition helped pull up the firm’s average entry price to $66,357 per Bitcoin.
But like previous buys, the market did not immediately respond with positivity. In fact, in the hours following the purchase, Bitcoin led a larger market crash that has brought the price from about $96,000 that morning to about $86,000 a day later.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Editor's note: This story was originally published on November 19, 2024, and last updated with new details on February 25, 2025.
