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Bitcoin

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MicroStrategy purchased its first Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) stash on Aug. 10, 2020, becoming the first public-traded company to adopt the cryptocurrency as its primary treasury reserve asset. Four years later, the bold move has evolved into a defining strategy for the company that has outpaced even the returns of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
<h2 id="microstrategy-nets-5-38b-in-bitcoin-profits">MicroStrategy nets $5.38B in Bitcoin profits</h2>
As of Aug. 10, 2024, MicroStrategy had 226,500 BTC worth $13.771 billion in reserves, which it acquired at an average cost of around $37,000. With Bitcoin currently trading at approximately $60,500, MicroStrategy is now sitting on unrealized profits of about $5.39 billion.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/3931e145-cd08-4ad8-91ff-0b339ccce93f.png" alt="4 years in, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin gamble beats Warren Buffett’s warning">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">MicroStrategy's Bitcoin purchases throughout the history. Source: SaylorTracker.com
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Despite the substantial gains, Michael Saylor's company has maintained its Bitcoin holdings, choosing not to liquidate any of its accumulated assets. It has expressed its intention to continue <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-800-million-convertible-note-offering-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">accumulating Bitcoin</a>, further evidenced by its most <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-q2-earnings-reveals-bitcoin-stockpile-14-7-billion" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">recent purchase on Aug. 1</a>.
<h2 id="michael-saylor-is-beating-legendary-warren-buffett">Michael Saylor is beating legendary Warren Buffett</h2>
The value of MicroStrategy’s MSTR stock has responded bullishly to its Bitcoin purchases, having surged by around 1,000% since August 2020. In comparison, that is 1.5 times higher than BTC’s returns and 16.25 times higher than the returns of the S&amp;P 500 (SPX) index&nbsp;in the same period.&nbsp;
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/f1bbd25a-ce2e-4ac7-8908-e35d47724a3c.png" alt="4 years in, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin gamble beats Warren Buffett’s warning">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">MSTR versus BTC/USD and SPX performance since August 2020. Source: TradingView
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Interestingly, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock, BRK.A, has significantly underperformed compared to MSTR since MicroStrategy’s initial Bitcoin purchase. BRK.A has only gained 104.75% during this period,&nbsp;with Buffett's persistent negative stance toward Bitcoin keeping Berkshire from exploring crypto investments.
Related:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-crash-99-against-bitcoin-since-2015" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway did crash 99%... against Bitcoin since 2015</a>
In 2018, Buffett called Bitcoin a “<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/rat-poison-squared-bitcoin-passes-warren-buffett-s-berkshire-hathaway-by-market-cap" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">rat poison squared</a>.” His close associate, the late Charlie Munger, went a step further and predicted that <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-is-a-disgusting-product-that-comes-out-of-thin-air-says-charlie-munger" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC's price would crash to zero</a>, calling it a disgusting product, in his statement in 2021.&nbsp;
Still, Bitcoin and MSTR have performed better than Buffett's top stock holdings, namely, Apple, American Express, and Bank of America, in recent years.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/47688198-0bf2-45ea-af88-1fcf194945dc.png" alt="4 years in, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin gamble beats Warren Buffett’s warning">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">MSTR vs. BRK.A, AAPL, BAC, and AXP returns since August 2020. Source: TradingView
 </figcaption>
</figure>
However, some traders have expressed their intentions to short the MSTR stock, with investment firm&nbsp;Kerrisdale Capital argying that it is trading at “unjustifiable premium” to Bitcoin.
“The software business is worth a billion, maybe a billion [point] five, somewhere in between — it’s not worth very much,"&nbsp;Sahm Adrangi, chief investment officer at Kerrisdale Capital, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/short-microstrategy-investment-bitcion-michael-saylor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told Cointelegraph</a>, adding:
<blockquote>
 "Bitcoin prices have to go up for the value of the company to increase. If they go down the value of the company goes down. The company should be trading at the value of Bitcoin. Our argument is ‘go short MicroStrategy, go long Bitcoin.”&nbsp;
</blockquote>
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

4 years in, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin gamble beats Warren Buffett’s warning

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