MicroStrategy, largest corporate holder of bitcoin, drops as much as 18% as cryptocurrency falls

Shares of MicroStrategy tumbled on Tuesday alongside the price of bitcoin, as the company bought even more of the cryptocurrency.

The stock was last lower by 12%. Earlier, it fell as much as 18%.

The move came as MicroStrategy bought an additional 9,245 bitcoins for about $623 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company used $592.3 million in net proceeds from a recent private offering of convertible senior notes and excess cash to make its purchase.

MicroStrategy made a similar move last week, purchasing 12,000 bitcoins for close to $822 million following a debt sale as bitcoin was climbing to all-time highs. The company now holds a total of 214,246 bitcoins, it announced Tuesday.

Meanwhile, bitcoin fell on Tuesday, sliding below $63,000 at one point, about $10,000 below last week’s record high. MicroStrategy tends to trade in tandem with the cryptocurrency.

Key catalysts such as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the upcoming “halving” event in April — which cuts the bitcoin mining reward in half to limit the supply — have helped buoy the flagship crypto and the stocks tied to its performance.

MicroStrategy launched as a provider of enterprise software, but began employing an aggressive bitcoin-buying strategy in 2020 and has primarily traded as a proxy for the crypto’s price since then. This February, the company said it would shift its company focus and brand to bitcoin development.

MicroStrategy’s stock is now up 108% this year compared to bitcoin’s 50% run. Both began turning lower last week as investors took profits.