MicroStrategys bitcoin bet produces over 300% gain for investors in 2023
Summary
Unlike its tech peers, which rely on revenue growth and market share gains to fuel their stock prices, MicroStrategys investor appeal is almost exclusively due to bitcoin . Co-founder Michael Saylor, who was CEO at the time, saw that money sitting virtually idle on the sidelines due to low interest rates and wanted to put it to work. Earlier this month, GameStop gave CEO Ryan Cohen, who gained minor celebrity status as an investor, permission to use company cash to purchase stock. In analyzing why MicroStrategys stock has so dramatically outperformed bitcoin this year, Vafi described it as a "scarcity premium," because there are limited ways for equity investors to tap the market. "MicroStrategy is encouraged by the continuing maturity of the regulatory environment around bitcoin as well as the increased institutional demand that we are seeing today," Shirish Jajodia, the companys vice president of treasury and investor relations, told CNBC in an email.