Share this article
MicroStrategy Explored Options From Art to Real Estate Before Bitcoin Buys, New CEO Says
The software company now owns nearly $3 billion worth of bitcoin.
Updated May 11, 2023, 5:40 p.m. Published Aug 9, 2022, 7:45 p.m.
New MicroStrategy (MSTR) CEO Phong Le backed up Michael Saylor's decision to hold bitcoin on the company's balance sheet.
Speaking Tuesday at a conference sponsored by investment bank Canaccord Genuity, Le said that prior to first purchasing bitcoin (BTC) in August 2020, MicroStrategy considering purchasing Treasurys, corporate bonds, gold, commodities, real estate and even artwork.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Read more: Michael Saylor Lost Big in the Dot-Com Bubble and Bitcoin's Crash. Now He Aims to Rebound Again
Digital assets, however, kept popping into management's conversations, Le said. “We at our core are inventors, we’re innovators,” he said, explaining why bitcoin won out.
Le reminded the audience that in September 2020 MicroStrategy ran a Dutch auction, offering those investors not interested in the bitcoin strategy a way out via a 15% premium to the stock price at that time. Only $60 million in stock was tendered, which was far short of the $250 million the company had expected, Le said.
Le said the bitcoin strategy has boosted shares and trading volume, and helped MicroStrategy make a transition from solely being a “sleepy software company.”
The company now owns about 129,000 bitcoins, or nearly $3 billion worth at the current price of $23,000.
Le was moved into the CEO spot at MicroStrategy last week after Saylor stepped down to become executive chairman, with a sole focus on the company's bitcoin strategy.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Michael Saylor's Strategy Hangs on to Spot in Nasdaq 100 Index
The annual Nasdaq 100 rebalance saw six companies dropped and three new additions, with changes taking effect on December 22, but bitcoin treasury company Strategy hung onto its spot.
What to know:
- Strategy (MSTR) will remain in the Nasdaq 100 index despite a major reshuffle, which saw several household names dropped.
- The firm's business model, which involves stockpiling bitcoin, has drawn criticism from analysts and index providers, with MSCI considering excluding crypto treasury companies from its benchmarks.
- The Nasdaq 100 rebalance saw six companies dropped and three new additions, with changes taking effect on December 22, but Strategy's bitcoin-heavy strategy secured its spot.
Top Stories
