Saylor’s Strategy Makes First Purchase of Bitcoin Since August

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Saylor's Strategy Inc. purchased Bitcoin for the first time in three weeks, acquiring $75.7 million of the original cryptocurrency after seeking to rebuild investor confidence by reshaping its balance sheet and building out reserves.

The original Bitcoin treasury company — co-founded and run by Saylor — also repurchased $174 million of its STRC perpetual preferred shares, part of its effort to lift the price above par so that the securities can be used again to finance future Bitcoin purchases. Cash was used to fund both transactions, Strategy said in a filing on Monday. The preferred trade just below $99.

Strategy's latest Bitcoin purchase comes as conditions around its financing model have improved modestly. Bitcoin's rebound to an eighth-month high of around $85,000 has helped lift Strategy's shares and pushed the market capitalization of the company closer to the value of its Bitcoin holdings. The firm holds around $71 billion in Bitcoin.

Saylor has reversed parts of its funding scheme for Bitcoin purchases as concern over shareholder dilution and liquidity grew amid a prolonged downturn in digital assets.

Shares of Strategy have declined 55% in the past year.