Saylor expects Strategy to buy more Bitcoin ahead of expected bull market

Strategy Executive Chair Michael Saylor said Tuesday that Strategy could increase Bitcoin holdings ahead of an expected bull market. Saylor said Strategy would probably acquire Bitcoin and issue credit as the market enters a bull phase. Saylor expects Bitcoin to rise back above $100,000 during this bull cycle. Saylor maintained a long-term outlook for Bitcoin to grow 20% to 30% annually over the next twenty years.

Saylor addressed criticism during a Bloomberg Television interview about Strategy selling Bitcoin after encouraging investors to hold the cryptocurrency indefinitely. Saylor said investors overreacted to an initial sale of 32 BTC. Saylor said Strategy later sold thousands of BTC without a market reaction. Saylor argued that investors and the market must become accustomed to Strategy buying and selling Bitcoin according to shareholders' best interests.

Strategy paused Bitcoin purchases between June 29 and Aug. 24 to focus on improving the balance sheet, including selling 6,916 BTC. Strategy ended the two-month pause in purchases in the week ending Aug. 31. Strategy has not sold Bitcoin since then. Asked whether Strategy was preparing the market for more Bitcoin sales, Saylor said Strategy remains a net acquirer. Saylor said he believed Strategy had acquired more Bitcoin than any other company in the world this year.

Strategy bought 250 BTC for $21.5 million last week. Strategy funded the purchase by selling 125,183 MSTR shares through the company's at-the-market program and using $500,000 from the company's cash balance. Strategy currently holds 848,250 BTC, worth $70.59 billion, making Strategy the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Strategy has unrealized gains of nearly $7 billion. Strategy held $4.88 billion in dollar reserves and $640 million in additional cash.

Benzinga Pro data showed Bitcoin trading at $83,745 at the time of writing, up 0.20% over the previous 24 hours. Strategy shares fell 0.33% to close at $152.18 during Tuesday's regular trading session. Strategy shares were down 0.07% in premarket trading. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicated that MSTR had outperformed on price trends over short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.