Microstrategy navigates like an insatiable giant. While Bitcoin oscillates around 96,000 dollars, the firm led by Michael Saylor has just revealed a new shine: a convertible bond emission of $ 2 billion intended to inflate his Bitcoin treasure. A daring strategy, almost provocative, which questions as much as it fascinates. How did a traditional company have turned into mastodon of the crypto? And above all, how far will this quest go?
Saylor's infernal mechanics: obligations to tame Bitcoin
Microstrategy, renamed Strategy, no longer relies on classic funds. His favorite weapon? The obligations convertible at 0 %, a hybrid financial instrument which seduces as much as it confuses.
These titles, exchangeable in future actions, allow the company to collect billions without immediate interests. A boon to buy bitcoin, but also a risky bet: if the price of bitcoin collapses, bond holders could require broken prices, diluting the value of the company.
Saylor's logic Based on a simple equation: borrow at zero rate, convert the debt to capital if Bitcoin climbs, and repeat the operation.
Since October 2023, Strategy has already injected $ 21 billion into this scheme, bringing its reserves to 478,740 BTC. A dizzying figure, equivalent to 2.3 % of the total bitcoin offer. For some, it is financial engineering. For others, a pyramid of disguised debts.
However, the market seems to play the game. Investors even have the possibility of buying an additional $ 300 million in bonds within five days of the issue.
A confidence that is explained by past performance: despite net losses of $ 670 million in the last quarter of 2023, the MSTR action jumped 372 % in one year. Proof that, in the crypto era, traditional indicators sometimes lose their meaning.
The Strategy paradox
How does a company displaying colossal losses become a must-have Wallets? The answer is in one word: Bitcoin.
Strategy embodies a new era where value is measured according to the digital assets held, not the profits generated. By accumulating bitcoins, Saylor transforms his company into an indirect Bitcoin proxy, attracting investors wishing to expose themselves to the crypto without holding it directly.
But this metamorphosis is not without gray areas. The obligations issued will mature in 2030, except in early conversion. Until then, Strategy will have to assume its debts … or hope that Bitcoin will have reached stratospheric heights. In the event of Krach, bond holders could require cash reimbursements, plunging the company into a nightmarish scenario.
Despite everything, the model seduces. Twelve American states already hold $ 330 million in strategy shares. An institutional adoption which de facto validates the strategy of Saylor, even if it remains marginal.
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