Dorsey and Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy Is Paying Off — For Now

MicroStrategy is finally back in the green on its bitcoin, but the same can’t be said for other companies

article-image

3Dsculptor/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Bitcoin is once again trading above $30,000 — welcome news for those public companies with BTC on their balance sheets.

In fact, software intelligence firm MicroStrategy is now in the green on its bitcoin buys, having flirted with margin calls in the depths of the bear market months back.

MicroStrategy boasts the largest corporate treasury of any public stock by far. The firm, under leadership of former CEO Michael Saylor, has bought 140,000 BTC for $4.2 billion since August 2020, per BitcoinTreasuries

MicroStrategy’s stash is now worth $4.234 billion, representing a nearly 1% gain. 

These public companies have a known cost basis for their bitcoin

Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block (formerly Square) is faring better. Block has so far acquired 8,027 BTC for $220 million — worth $242.7 million as of midday Tuesday, a 10% jump.

Tesla isn’t so crash hot. Elon Musk’s electric car giant may have sold most of its bitcoin last year, but it still held 9,720 BTC as of the end of 2022. Tesla’s cost basis for that crypto is calculated as $337.5 million. 

The company’s bitcoin is currently worth a touch over $293.3 million. That means Musk is about 13% in the red on BTC. Bitcoin would need to reach about $34,750 for Tesla to break even.

How corporate bitcoin balances have changed over the past year (all figures as of latest disclosures)

Balance sheets for a raft of smaller stocks are also suffering. 

Japanese-South Korean mobile game studio NEXON, Norwegian energy-focused holding company Aker and Chinese selfie app maker Meitu all bought bitcoin in the heat of the 2021 bull market (the latter also bought some ether).

All three firms are now down more than 40% on their bitcoin investments — together feeling more than $92 million in paper losses.

And while it’s difficult to quantify the impact BTC has had on share prices (MicroStrategy aside), stocks with large BTC balances have underperformed against the S&P 500 over the past year.

Except for Meitu, which has now doubled after claiming it’s close to profitability.


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

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Silk Road founder Ulbricht made a triumphant return to the Bitcoin Conference, 10 years on from sentencing

article-image

A Blockworks Research report looked at who could take up some of the marketshare in the launchpad space

article-image

Business-to-business stablecoin payments are on the rise, per a report from Artemis, Dragonfly and Castle Island

article-image

Crypto continues to do its thing: incentivizing behavior

article-image

Kraken will soon offer Backed ‘xStocks’ as Solana tokens

article-image

In a unanimous decision, the US Court of International Trade has ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are unlawful