MSTR check-in, ‘Bitcoin Standard’ ETF filing

The holiday week was also marked by MicroStrategy becoming part of the Nasdaq 100

article-image

Mojahid Mottakin/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


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


Holiday celebrations transpired the last few days. But the week was also marked by MicroStrategy becoming part of the Nasdaq 100. 

While some thought this would offer the company’s stock price a short-term lift, that so far hasn’t been the case. As of 1 pm ET, MSTR’s share price was down 22% since the market opened on Dec. 16 (after the index inclusion news late the prior Friday).

End-of-year profit-taking (MSTR is up ~380% in 2024) and recent declines in BTC price are likely contributors to MicroStrategy’s latest price dip.

But the bigger picture? Significance of MSTR’s inclusion in the index, analysts note, stems from the massive funds that allocate to the Nasdaq 100 constituents — namely Invesco’s QQQ, an ETF that manages $325 billion in assets.

“More to the point, it’s acceptance,” Dan Weiskopf, co-portfolio manager of Amplify’s BLOK ETF, told me last week. “It’s institutional adoption. It’s an example of [Michael Saylor’s] strategy working, candidly.”

The question for 2025 is whether MSTR could also land itself in the S&P 500. Bigger than QQQ, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) — with $636 billion in assets — invests in the companies within that index.

Weiskopf called this possibility within the next year “a reach,” but believes it’s inevitable. 

Benchmark’s Mark Palmer noted that while MicroStrategy easily meets the minimum market cap and trading volume, it needs positive earnings for the most recent quarter and combined positive earnings for its last four quarters.

MSTR’s plan to adopt new FASB guidance on how BTC on balance sheets is accounted for would position it to begin reporting positive earnings as soon as Q1, Palmer added.

People are clearly noticing the trend of more companies holding BTC as a treasury asset. Just ask asset manager Bitwise, which yesterday proposed a Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF.

The planned offering would invest in companies with market caps above $100 million that hold at least 1,000 BTC in their corporate treasury.

MSTR obviously fits that criteria (444,262 BTC). So too do a bunch of the bigger bitcoin miners, like Marathon Digital (44,394 BTC as of Dec. 18), Hut 8 (10,096 BTC), Riot Platforms (17,429 BTC) and CleanSpark (9,297 BTC).

Elsewhere, Metaplanet revealed a buy of roughly 620 BTC on Monday, bringing its total holdings to about 1,762 BTC. 

Others — like KULR Technology Group, with an initial buy of 217 BTC yesterday — are working their way up.


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