MicroStrategy Takes $24M Q2 Charge on Multibillion-Dollar Bitcoin Haul
The software firm reported its second-quarter earnings after the close on Tuesday.
Aug 1, 2023 at 8:16 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/LVP7ZYJGZ5CYVAHBPV5ZXLV6BU.jpg)
MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor at Bitcoin 2021 in Miami (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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MicroStrategy (MSTR) posted an impairment charge of $24.1 million on its bitcoin (BTC) holdings in the second quarter, compared to $917.8 million in the year-ago quarter and an $18.9 million charge in Q1, according to its latest earnings report.
The company's digital asset impairment reflects the decline in the price of bitcoin versus the price at which the bitcoin was acquired. Under current accounting rules, the value of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies must be recorded at their cost and then only adjusted if their value is impaired, or goes down. But if the price rises, that does not get reported unless an asset is sold.
The price of bitcoin began the second quarter at roughly $28,500 and ended the quarter at about $30,400.
"Our bitcoin holdings increased to 152,800 bitcoins as of July 31, 2023, with the addition in the second quarter of 12,333 bitcoins being the largest increase in a single quarter since Q2 2021," said Andrew Kang, Chief Financial Officer, in a statement. "We efficiently raised capital through our at-the-market equity program and used cash from operations to continue to increase bitcoins on our balance sheet. And we did so against the promising backdrop of increasing institutional interest, progress on accounting transparency, and ongoing regulatory clarity for bitcoin.”
The company acquired 12,333 bitcoin for $347 million in cash between April 29 and June 27, and another 467 BTC for $14.4 million in July, according to a tweet from executive chairman Michael Saylor.
Bitcoin prices have increased roughly 76% this year, while MicroStrategy shares have more than tripled. Its 152,800 bitcoins are worth roughly $4.5 billion.
Overall, MSTR reported revenue of $120.4 million, short of analyst estimates of revenue of $123.1 million.
Shares of MSTR were falling 1% to $430 after-hours on Tuesday.
UPDATE (Aug. 1 20:31 UTC): Updated with recent acquisitions.
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