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Shares of MicroStrategy tumbled on Tuesday alongside the price of bitcoin, as the company bought even more of the cryptocurrency.
The stock was last lower by 12%. Earlier, it fell as much as 18%.
The move came as MicroStrategy bought an additional 9,245 bitcoins for about $623 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company used $592.3 million in net proceeds from a recent private offering of convertible senior notes and excess cash to make its purchase.
MicroStrategy made a similar move last week, purchasing 12,000 bitcoins for close to $822 million following a debt sale as bitcoin was climbing to all-time highs. The company now holds a total of 214,246 bitcoins, it announced Tuesday.
MicroStrategy falls as much as 18% Tuesday
Meanwhile, bitcoin fell on Tuesday, sliding below $63,000 at one point – about $10,000 below last week’s record high. MicroStrategy tends to trade in tandem with the cryptocurrency.
Key catalysts like spot bitcoin exchange traded funds and the upcoming “halving” event in April — which cuts the bitcoin mining reward in half to limit the supply — have helped buoy the flagship crypto and the stocks tied to its performance.
MicroStrategy launched as a provider of enterprise software, but began employing an aggressive bitcoin buying strategy in 2020 and has primarily traded as a proxy for the crypto’s price since then. This February, the company said it would shift its company focus and brand to Bitcoin development.
MicroStrategy’s stock is now up 108% this year compared to bitcoin’s 50% run – both began turning lower last week as investors took profits.
