Michael Saylor faced hurdles before successfully adding Bitcoin to MicroStrategy's balance sheet in 2020.
Speaking at the 2024 Abundance360 Summit this week, Saylor revealed how he offered to buy out MicroStrategy shareholders in a Dutch action when they first moved in to acquire $250 million worth of bitcoin.
These comments come after Saylor and his company announced earlier this week that they had purchased approximately 9,245 bitcoins for approximately $623 million. This latest acquisition brings MicroStrategy's total holdings to approximately 214,246 BTC.
In a video from the conference, Saylor explained how he offered MicroStrategy shareholders the option to return their shares to the company while they purchased Bitcoin.
“We announced that we would conduct a Dutch auction and buy back $250 million of shares at a premium. The stock price was between $121 and $122. We offered to buy out to our shareholders at $140. We were given 20 days to think about it.” Saylor explained.
He said his philosophy was to “buy Bitcoin” and that he was willing to do whatever it took to accumulate more. At the time, Bitcoin's price was around $11,000, down from its all-time highs of $20,000 in 2017.
Saylor's aggressiveness in acquiring Bitcoin for MicroStrategy has made the enterprise software company one of the largest holders of Bitcoin. The company currently holds over $13.7 billion worth of Bitcoin, making Bitcoin a core asset for the company's treasury.
MicroStrategy has since funded its bitcoin purchases through debt offerings and equity issuances, even as the bitcoin market has declined, and it has made clear that it has no plans to sell its stash anytime soon.
