MicroStrategy Rumored to Pause Bitcoin Purchases in January

Speculation is growing that MicroStrategy (MSTR) could halt Bitcoin (BTC) purchases in January due to a rumored blackout period on issuing shares or convertible debt.

A blackout period for publicly traded companies is a temporary time frame during which specific activities involving the company’s securities are restricted. These restrictions are typically self-imposed.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Purchase Could Slow Down in Q1 2025

A popular venture capitalist claimed that Executive Chairman Michael Saylor faces restrictions in January that could prevent the issuance of new convertible debt for funding further Bitcoin acquisition. 

However, this could disappoint many MSTR investors who closely follow the company’s aggressive Bitcoin purchase strategy.

“Saylor has a blackout period all of January and cannot issue any new converts to buy BTC. Mad lad goes for it through Dec 31, and then alt season, “ Vance Spencer wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

Some observers suggested the rumored prohibition might stem from insider trading regulations. While the SEC does not forbid trading by insiders after a fiscal quarter ends, many companies adopt blackout periods to avoid the appearance of impropriety. 

These periods often last two weeks to a month and typically end a couple of days after quarterly earnings announcements. Others speculated that the restriction could apply only to “at the market” (ATM) share sales, not convertible debt issuances. 

“I think $MSTR blackout periods are overhyped in duration and expected impact. I’m not convinced MicroStrategy will stop buying Bitcoin or stop the ATM for the period from close of the quarter to the release of quarterly report (~40 days). I understand regular 8K filings and press releases satisfy all Fair Disclosure requirements, and they’ve established a norm for doing so in their market activity to date,” another analyst wrote. 

Another theory linked the potential blackout to MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the NASDAQ 100 index on December 23, suggesting internal committee recommendations may have led to the pause.

MicroStrategy’s next earnings report is expected between February 3 to 5, 2025. Analysts believe any blackout period could span the entire month of January or begin mid-month on January 14.

“Quarter to date, $MSTR treasury operations delivered a BTC Yield of 46.4%, a net benefit of ~116,940 BTC. At $105K per BTC, that equates to ~$12.28 billion for the quarter,” Michael Saylor wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

Microstrategy currently holds $46.02 billion worth of Bitcoin, sitting on an unrealized profit of over $18.9 billion. The company bought over $3 billion worth of BTC in December alone, at prices of over $100,000. This shows how extremely bullish Michael Saylor’s company is on the largest cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin’s bullish cycle this year has reflected on MicroStrategy’s performance in the stock market. MSTR stock price is up by over 460% year-to-date. 

This rally has pushed the company into the list of top 100 publicly listed firms in the US. The stock was recently added to the illusive Nasdaq-100, and it’s potentially in contention for the S&P 500 next year.