By George Ward
MicroStrategy’s recent decision to invest heavily in Bitcoin has caught the business world’s attention. Michael Saylor, the company’s executive chairman and former CEO, has been an outspoken proponent of the cryptocurrency and has led the charge in MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchases. The firm’s total BTC holdings are now over 140K at the time of writing.
Yet, only some are convinced these constant purchases are a wise move for the enterprise intelligence software vendor. In his recent tweet, the founder of North Rock Digital (a crypto-focused investment fund), Hal Press, called MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchase tactic “comically stupid.”
He argued that the company is taking on unnecessary risk by putting much of its treasury into a volatile asset like Bitcoin.
Press Expresses His Concerns
Press expressed concern over MicroStrategy’s significant purchases of Bitcoin. In response to a tweet earlier this month that stated that “MicroStrategy now owns one out of 150 Bitcoin that will ever exist,” Press commented that “while it may not happen right away, eventually all of Saylor’s coins will have to be sold.”
He mocked Saylor’s approach by stating that utilizing a software company to finance a “Bitcoin acquisition strategy” through excessive borrowing is ludicrous and even humorous. He further said it is clear that there is a flaw in this strategy.
Press clarified that his opinion is not specifically about Bitcoin but rather the act of taking over a public company and using it to acquire assets unrelated to its core business. He believes this approach is senseless, even if the acquired asset is ETH.
However, he acknowledges that this does not necessarily mean the individual will not be successful or that there is a possibility for profitability. Undoubtedly, Saylor is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin, considering it a “financial engine founded on truth with the aim of giving people financial freedom.”
50% of Bitcoin’s Circulating Supply Has Been Inactive for Two Years – Pompliano
Meanwhile, Anthony Pompliano, a top crypto influencer, has claimed that over half of Bitcoin’s circulating supply has been inactive for the past two years. He said his claims are based on recent Bitcoin data from Glassnode, a platform that tracks crypto-related metrics.
Based on the data, nearly 29% of the Bitcoin in circulation has remained unused for the past five years, totaling more than 5.6 million BTC with a value of approximately $158 billion. A portion of this, around 2.7 million BTC worth $76 billion, has not been accessed for a decade.
According to Pompliano, this data suggests that these Bitcoin may have been lost or under the control of exceptionally disciplined investors. Meanwhile, Coingecko data shows that Bitcoin’s current trading price is $28,264, with a 1.1% increase over the past day and a 39.9% gain in the last 30 days.
Consequently, the current value of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings is almost $4 billion. The recent surge in Americans’ curiosity about Bitcoin comes after the United States Federal Reserve announced the release of the FedNow payment system.
The government declared on March 16th that the immediate payments platform would become functional in July. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum (the number one altcoin) has also started the week on a high as the date of its Shanghai upgrade draws close.
ETH currently trades at $1,850 according to current Coingecko data and is up 0.5% in the last 24 hours and 29.5% percent over the past month.