‘Back to Orange’: Strategy buys another 1,229 bitcoin for about $109 million after brief pause

Michael Saylor’s bitcoin treasury company, Strategy (ticker MSTR), purchased an additional 1,229 bitcoin between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28, spending about $108.8 million at an average price of roughly $88,568 per bitcoin, as it resumed bitcoin buying after a brief pause.

The purchases were funded through sales of Strategy’s Class A common stock MSTR, under its at-the-market (ATM) offering program, according to a Form 8-K filed Monday. During the same period, the company sold 663,450 shares of MSTR, generating net proceeds of $108.8 million after commissions, the filing showed.

Saylor, Strategy’s founder and chairman, had hinted at renewed bitcoin buying on Sunday, posting “Back to Orange” dots on X. The purchases follow a short pause last week, when Strategy did not announce new bitcoin acquisitions and instead added cash to its USD reserve, which now stands at $2.19 billion. The reserve is intended to support the Strategy’s dividend payments on preferred stock and interest on outstanding debt.

With the latest purchase, Strategy now holds a total of 672,497 bitcoin, acquired for an aggregate purchase price of about $50.44 billion and an average cost basis of roughly $74,997 per bitcoin, according to the filing. Bitcoin was trading around $87,300 at the time of writing, valuing Strategy’s holdings at approximately $58.7 billion — a paper gain of more than $8 billion.

The filing also showed no sales during the week across Strategy’s preferred stock offerings, including STRF, STRC, STRK, and STRD, leaving significant remaining capacity under those issuance programs.

Analyst views diverge

Earlier this month, when Strategy boosted its USD reserve to $2.19 billion, analysts at TD Cowen’s TD Securities unit said the move strengthened the company’s ability to operate through a “prolonged crypto winter” by improving liquidity and financial flexibility. TD Securities maintains a buy rating on Strategy with a $500 price target over the next 12 months. Strategy shares were trading around $156 at the time of writing, down more than 45% year-to-date, according to The Block’s MSTR price page.

Others have taken a more cautious view. Onchain analytics firm CryptoQuant recently said Strategy’s decision to build a large USD reserve suggests the company is preparing for a “deep or extended bitcoin drawdown.” JPMorgan analysts, meanwhile, have argued that Strategy’s resilience — specifically its ability to hold bitcoin through volatility — matters more for bitcoin’s near-term price outlook than miner activity.

Markets are also watching whether MSCI will remove Strategy and other digital asset treasury companies from its equity indices. A decision is due Jan. 15 ahead of the February index rebalancing. Earlier this month, Strategy wrote to the MSCI Equity Index Committee urging it to drop a proposal that would exclude companies whose crypto holdings exceed 50% of total assets, warning such a move could create index instability and conflict with broader U.S. policy efforts to support digital asset innovation.