Saylor’s Bitcoin Bullish Bet Ignites Retail Frenzy for MSTR

For years, many dismissed Michael Saylor as a Bitcoin evangelist destined to fail, equating his crypto obsession with a tulip mania redux. Fast forward to 2023 and 2024, and Saylor is having the last laugh. Bitcoin is nearing $110,000, and MicroStrategy (MSTR), his Bitcoin-centric company, is basking in the glow.

Retail investors are catching on, pouring nearly $11 million into MSTR shares this week—almost triple its average daily inflows this year. This surge coincided with MSTR securing a spot in the Nasdaq-100 index. Vanda Research reports MSTR’s newfound popularity comes as the stock has delivered a jaw-dropping 550% return in 2024, easily outpacing Nvidia’s impressive 160%.

At the heart of this success is Bitcoin. Saylor has doggedly allocated massive portions of MicroStrategy’s capital to acquire Bitcoin, leveraging its appreciation to enhance shareholder value. His strategy involves issuing convertible debt and equity to fund Bitcoin purchases—MSTR now holds 439,000 bitcoins valued at over $45 billion. Saylor compares this to investing in prime real estate, calling Bitcoin a kind of “cyber Manhattan” with enormous long-term potential.

Of course, Bitcoin doesn’t rise forever. A correction could send MSTR’s stock tumbling, as it’s seen as a proxy for Bitcoin’s price. But for now, Saylor seems unfazed, content to ride the wave of crypto’s meteoric ascent while the skeptics watch from the sidelines