MicroStrategy spent $17.5B on bitcoin in the last 2 months

Most of that cash has come from buyers of its zero-percent convertible bonds

article-image

Tigarto/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


MicroStrategy is sucking most of the air out of the room right now. But there are even bigger forces at play.

As debate rages over whether Saylor is a once-in-a-lifetime financial genius or just another overleveraged trader, stablecoins are bringing even more liquidity to crypto.

At least, that’s in terms of raw dollar value being pumped into the space right now. 

MSTR has now spent $17.5 billion on bitcoin in the past two months alone, as shown by the orange areas on the chart below. Most of that cash has come from buyers of its infamous zero-percent convertible bonds.

MicroStrategy’s purchases can then be viewed simply as accepting dollars with one hand and plowing them into bitcoin with the other. Fast and cheap liquidity in return for exposure.

In the same period, bitcoin ETFs in the US have gained an additional $16.5 billion in net inflows. ETH ETFs have otherwise net added $3 billion, and together those flows are in blue on the chart.

ETFs follow much the same process as MicroStrategy but without the bonds. They take investor cash to buy an equivalent amount of bitcoin or ether, passing on exposure to shareholders minus a fee.

Stablecoins, MicroStrategy’s bitcoin buys and ETF inflows converged in November

And then there’s stablecoins. Since mid-October, stablecoins issuers have collectively minted an additional $30.8 billion tokens. Over 92% of those inflows have gone to USDT and USDC. 

Outside of Sky’s USDS and the more exotic alternatives that have emerged, such as Ethena’s USDe and Usual’s USD0, stablecoin managers generally take US dollars, buy short-dated Treasurys and other cash equivalents and then issue the same amount of fresh token supply to whomever wired them cash. 

Obviously, stablecoins flows aren’t really the same thing as ETF inflows or MSTR’s cash pipeline. 

But they do represent something similar: a widespread urge to enter crypto markets across a multitude of avenues.

That’s now to the tune of almost $68 billion in the past nine weeks — easily the biggest liquidity wave on record, at least by my count.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Nillion_DeSci_Report_Template.png

Research

Nillion’s Monad Integration is poised to catalyze the next phase of DeSci’s evolution by eliminating key privacy bottlenecks. This synergy allows researchers, institutions, and DAOs to exchange sensitive data and insights securely while managing governance and payments onchain.

article-image

Celebrating the wisdom of a diamond-handed Bitcoin Legend

article-image

With the success of RWAs and stablecoins, DePINs could onboard the next wave of crypto users

article-image

Is crypto straying too far from things of value?

article-image

Firedancer and Solana ETFs look less significant than before

article-image

The newly passed House bill amplifies that strategic pivot for the Trump administration, from attempting austerity to running the economy hot

article-image

Unable to secure further funding, the game cycled through three different blockchains and at least five different game engines since 2018