According to CNBC, shares of MicroStrategy fell by 5.67% on Tuesday as the company purchased an additional 9,245 bitcoins for about $623 million. The stock had earlier dropped by as much as 18%. MicroStrategy used $592.3 million in net proceeds from a recent private offering of convertible senior notes and excess cash to make the purchase. This comes after the company bought 12,000 bitcoins for nearly $822 million last week following a debt sale, as bitcoin reached all-time highs. MicroStrategy now holds a total of 214,246 bitcoins.
Bitcoin's price also declined on Tuesday, falling below $63,000 at one point, which is about $10,000 below its record high from last week. MicroStrategy's stock tends to trade in tandem with the cryptocurrency. Factors such as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the upcoming 'halving' event in April, which reduces the bitcoin mining reward by half to limit supply, have supported the flagship cryptocurrency and stocks related to its performance. MicroStrategy initially launched as an enterprise software provider but adopted an aggressive bitcoin-buying strategy in 2020 and has since primarily traded as a proxy for the crypto's price. In February, the company announced it would shift its focus and brand to bitcoin development. MicroStrategy's stock is now up 124% this year, compared to bitcoin's 50% increase. Both began to decline last week as investors took profits.