Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 3,000 Bitcoin for a total of $155 million at an average price of $51,813 between Feb. 15 and 25.
This brings the company’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to 193,000 Bitcoin, acquired for $6.09 billion at an average price of $31,544, according to a Feb. 26 X post by Michael Saylor, the founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, which is the largest Bitcoin holder among publicly traded companies.
The announcement of the purchase came as MicroStrategy’s X account was hacked. The hacker posted a series of malicious links to fake token airdrops, seeking to steal user funds. The fraudulent announcement led to over $440,000 being stolen, according to pseudonymous on-chain investigator ZachXBT.
MicroStrategy’s latest Bitcoin acquisition follows promising predictions from senior Bloomberg analysts who foresee Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) potentially overtaking gold ETFs in assets under management (AUM) in the next two years.
Gold’s Pain is Bitcoin ETFs’ Gain in Store of Value Smackdown.. new from me on how gold being in the gutter is like the cherry on top for bitcoin fans who just got to witness the biggest ETF launch ever. Decent chance bitcoin ETFs pass gold ETFs in aum in less than 2yrs w… pic.twitter.com/rXJra1dyhF— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 26, 2024
According to a Feb. 26 research report shared on X by senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas and associate analyst Andre Yapp, the successful launch of Bitcoin ETFs will signal more competition for the precious metal.
The 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have amassed a total of 5,500 Bitcoin since launching on Jan. 11, according to Farside Investors data.
While Bitcoin ETFs have absorbed over $5 billion in net assets since launching, gold ETFs amassed $3.6 billion during the same period. Gold ETFs could potentially struggle to keep their $90 billion in assets due to gold’s price performance, noted Balchunas and Yapp in the report. Gold prices are down 0.01% in the past 24 hours to $2,033 per ounce, according to data from Gold Price.
On Feb. 20, MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor said he would be buying Bitcoin forever, adding that he has no plans to sell the asset that is technically superior to gold, real estate and the S&P 500.
“Bitcoin is technically superior to those asset classes. And that being the case, there’s just no reason to sell the winner to buy the losers.”
Bitcoin fell 0.67% in the 24 hours to trade at $51,314, according to CoinMarketCap.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs account for about 75% of new investments — CryptoQuant