The largest corporate Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy, announced Thursday that it will split its stock after MSTR shares more than tripled in price over the last year. The company indicated that the stock split aims to make its stock more accessible to investors and employees.

What MicroStrategy’s 10-For-1 Stock Split Means

MicroStrategy’s board of directors approved a 10-for-1 stock split of its class A and class B common stock.

The stock split will be executed as a stock dividend, which gives stockholders of class A and B stocks nine additional shares for each share currently held, the firm said in a press release. The distribution is expected to occur after market close on August 7, with split-adjusted trading starting at market open on August 8.

MicroStrategy said the split will make the company’s surging stock “more accessible to investors and employees.” MicroStrategy’s stock (MSTR) price more than tripled over the past year, and currently stands at around $1,400 — representing a 7% gain today amid the news.

As a publicly listed company whose shareholders have a say, MicroStrategy clarified the stock split will not affect voting rights. This move was largely expected by industry pundits, given the meteoric growth of MicroStrategy shares since announcing its bold Bitcoin strategy in late 2020.

Bitcoin Development Company

MicroStrategy indicated within the Thursday announcement that it considers itself a Bitcoin development company. The Michael Saylor-founded software firm said it’s dedicated to advancing the Bitcoin network through its activities within the financial markets.

MicroStrategy noted that it had accumulated Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset. Notably, the company regularly issues corporate debt to raise funds to purchase more BTC for its treasury. After its latest acquisition last month, the company now holds 226,331 BTC, worth roughly $13.1 billion at the current market price of about $57,676. MicroStrategy spent a total of $8.33 billion to acquire the total BTC stash, meaning it’s sitting on over $5 billion in unrealized profits.

Earlier in May, MicroStrategy announced plans to launch a Bitcoin-based decentralized identity protocol.

With MicroStrategy’s unrelenting Bitcoin push, the company has motivated others like Japan’s Metaplanet to rip a page out of its playbook.