Strategy buys over $21 million in Bitcoin as corporate buying shows signs of revival

Strategy announced Monday that Strategy bought over $21 million worth of Bitcoin last week, bringing total holdings to roughly $70 billion. The purchase was Strategy's fifth since August. Strategy, led by billionaire Michael Saylor, funded the purchase by selling more than 125,000 common shares and using $500,000 in cash. Strategy also spent roughly $192 million to repurchase nearly 2 million STRC shares. STRC is a type of preferred stock that makes regular payments to investors.

Bitcoin rose to around $77,000 in mid-August for the first time since May, ending a prolonged period of limited price movement. Bitcoin has largely held above that level since. Bitcoin traded at $82,600 Monday morning. The rebound followed a decline from a high of $126,000 last October to a low of $58,000 in June. Strategy holds roughly 4% of Bitcoin's circulating supply. Strategy sold portions of Strategy's Bitcoin holdings on four occasions during the slump. Strategy stopped selling and resumed accumulating Bitcoin as the price recovered.

Other companies have recently added cryptocurrency to their balance sheets, showing signs of a revival in corporate crypto buying. Strive announced earlier this month that Strive purchased 2,000 Bitcoin for $169 million, bringing total Bitcoin holdings to roughly $2.4 billion. Strive is an asset manager cofounded by billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. Robinhood recently disclosed a $25 million Bitcoin investment for Robinhood's own balance sheet. Robinhood is a crypto trading platform led by CEO Vlad Tenev.

Metaplanet announced this month that Metaplanet sold 10,000 Bitcoin in the third quarter. Metaplanet also announced that Metaplanet bought 11,000 Bitcoin in the third quarter. Metaplanet said the transactions aimed to demonstrate to credit markets that Metaplanet could convert Bitcoin holdings into cash when needed. Metaplanet is a Japan-based investment firm and the world's second-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company.

Bitmine announced this month that Bitmine added roughly $41 million worth of Ether to Bitmine's treasury. The purchase brought Bitmine's holdings to about 6 million tokens, nearly 5% of Ether's total supply. Bitmine changed from a Bitcoin miner into an Ethereum treasury company.

Bitcoin's recovery has fueled hopes of further gains. Bitcoin has held up despite recent interest rate hikes in the United States and renewed tensions in the Middle East. Analysts expect Bitcoin to recover further by year-end. One strategist predicted a summer bottom followed by a rebound toward $100,000.