Michael Saylor’s Strategy now owns 3% of Bitcoin

Michael Saylor’s Strategy now owns more than 3% of all the Bitcoin ever minted following the crypto treasury company’s latest purchase of the original cryptocurrency.

The former MicroStrategy Inc. acquired 6,220 Bitcoin for $739.8 million during the seven days ended July 20, according to a filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This raised the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm’s holdings to 607,770 Bitcoin – which is about 3.05% of the roughly 19.9 million token issued. The stack is worth about $72 billion.

Strategy has been using a combination of common and preferred shares and debt, to fund Bitcoin purchases since it began accumulating the cryptocurrency in late 2020 as a hedge against inflation. Dozens of companies have begun to emulate the practice. Strategy is the world’s leading corporate owner of Bitcoin. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) holds about $86 billion in assets.

While some other tokens’ unlimited supply has concerned investors, Bitcoin’s store of value proposition has been buoyed by the 21 million limit on the number of tokens to be mined. Instructions in the network’s original code have further helped to promote the scarcity value of the token – like quadrennial halving events that automatically slash the amount of token rewards miners earn. The last Bitcoin is expected to be issued in the year 2140.

Shares of Strategy has surged more than 3,500% since Saylor – a founder and executive chairman of the company – began buying Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has risen about 1,100% during the same period, while S&P 500 has increased around 120%.