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After 40 trading days since the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF, the Nasdaq-listed BitiBid IBIT has achieved a significant milestone by holding more Bitcoin than MicroStrategy, the publicly traded company under Michael Saylor, in terms of Bitcoin holdings.
Data shows that as of March 8th, IBIT holds approximately 195,985 BTC (as shown below), valued at over $13.579 billion, while MicroStrategy holds about 193,000 BTC. On the same day, Bitcoin historically broke the $70,000 mark for the first time.
Moreover, the cumulative trading volume of the spot Bitcoin ETF has easily exceeded $100 billion within less than two months since its launch. Data updated by Yahoo Finance on March 10th shows that the cumulative trading volume of spot Bitcoin reached $106.59 billion as of March 8th.
In fact, unconsciously, a Bitcoin reserve competition has already begun among US-listed companies.
Are US-listed companies/fund Bitcoin reserves becoming a "triumvirate"?
As the price of Bitcoin hits new highs, US-listed companies/funds are accelerating their accumulation of Bitcoin, and their pace of "absorbing" Bitcoin even exceeds the rate at which Bitcoin is being mined. According to the current market trend, US-listed companies have formed a "triumvirate" status, namely: spot Bitcoin ETFs, MicroStrategy, and Tesla (as well as SpaceX).
First, let's take a look at the spot Bitcoin ETF listed on the US stock market. According to data compiled by BitMEX Research, except for Grayscale's GBTC, the remaining nine spot Bitcoin ETFs have been increasing their Bitcoin reserves since receiving approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be listed on January 11th.
The reason why the issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to accumulate BTC is not to be overlooked—it's due to regulatory requirements. Because in the criteria for the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC, it requires the creation of so-called cash instead of so-called physical, meaning that the issuers of the funds must use cash to purchase Bitcoin when creating shares, or sell Bitcoin for cash when there are excess shares.
Of course, it cannot be denied that ETFs, as stock-like products, not only provide more capital-efficient trading options but also open the door to increasing leverage. With a large number of retail users entering the market, institutions are expected to gradually enter the cryptocurrency market, and increasing holdings will give both institutions and retail investors more confidence.
On the other hand, MicroStrategy, another US-listed company, has become quite a "veteran" in the Bitcoin market, and every time it adds to Bitcoin, it always manages to time the market correctly.
Just three days before Bitcoin first broke the $70,000 mark on March 8th, MicroStrategy "suddenly" announced plans to privately offer convertible senior notes due in 2030 for a total principal amount of $600 million to eligible institutional buyers, and a day later, they announced their intention to increase the size of the convertible senior notes offering to $700 million.
At the end of February, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries bought about $155.4 million worth of Bitcoin for cash. According to the latest data from Coinglass, MicroStrategy currently holds about 129,698 BTC. Calculated at over $70,000, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings have a paper profit of about $7 billion.
The reason why MicroStrategy is competing for Bitcoin reserves is likely to have a "two-pronged" meaning because in addition to the appreciation of its holdings, its stock price has also begun to rebound rapidly. According to US stock data, benefited from Bitcoin breaking through $70,000, MicroStrategy's stock price successfully broke through $1,400 to $1,425.59 at the close last week, with a gain of 538.82% over the past year and an astonishing 861.09% over the past five years.
At least for now, MicroStrategy's investment strategy seems to be successful. Since August 2020, the value of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings has multiplied several times, bringing generous returns to the company's shareholders. It is reported that MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor's personal wealth increased by about $700 million after the continuous rise in the company's stock and Bitcoin prices. Michael Saylor is the largest investor in MicroStrategy, owning about 12% of the company's shares. He also revealed that he owned 17,732 BTC personally in 2020, so his holdings and positions have increased from $2.27 billion earlier this week to $2.96 billion.
Finally, compared to the "high-profile" spot Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy, Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX seem to be much more low-key. Although there is no disclosure of relevant data in the recent financial reports (Note: Tesla and SpaceX have not yet announced the first-quarter financial reports for 2024), according to the monitoring of the on-chain data analysis platform Arkham, Tesla currently holds about 11,510 BTC in 68 addresses (worth about $780 million), and SpaceX holds about 8,290 BTC in 28 addresses (worth about $560 million), which means that Tesla's current Bitcoin reserves exceed the balance of 9,720 BTC reported in the previous financial report by approximately 1,789 BTC.
The crypto community speculates that Tesla may have started repurchasing Bitcoin, or the recent changes in numbers could be due to accounting errors. Some users suggest that the company may have started buying Bitcoin after the last earnings call and may report the new purchase information in the next financial conference call. |
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Post time 22-3-2024 15:37:26
