How MicroStrategy Forfeited $12.82B Profit by Not Investing in Ethereum

Data shows Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy missed out on a profit exceeding $12.82 billion by failing to invest its $7.59 billion in Ethereum.

Software firm MicroStrategy, led by Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, has been a prominent institutional BTC inventor for close to four years, injecting $7.59 billion into the asset since 2020. However, while MicroStrategy persistently committed substantial monthly funds to the BTC acquisition, Saylor unrepentantly retains maximalist views against other crypto assets.

Saylor is renowned for his claim that “there is no second best” crypto asset to Bitcoin. During a recent presentation, he told the audience that assets like Ethereum, XRP, Solana, BNB, and Cardano “are unregistered securities,” asserting none of them would ever be approved for an ETF.

Accordingly, analysts have challenged his views by evaluating MicroStrategy’s potential profitability if the firm had invested in Ethereum instead of Bitcoin.

By choosing #Bitcoin over #Ethereum, Michael Saylor missed out on a potential $10B+ gain.

MicroStrategy’s #BTC investment is worth $14.946B, but if they had bought #ETH, it could have been $19.052B, or even $20.922B with staking.🚀💰

“There is no second best”🤣 pic.twitter.com/foG043Tx2b

— Leon Waidmann | On-Chain Insights🔍 (@LeonWaidmann) May 24, 2024

Bitcoin is Second Best to Ethereum in Profit

On September 14, 2020, MicroStrategy announced its first investment of $175 million in Bitcoin, acquiring BTC at an average price of $10,419. This investment has yielded approximately $1.13 billion in revenue, resulting in over $954 million in profit.

At the same time, Ethereum traded at a low of $357 per ETH. If MicroStrategy had invested the same amount in Ethereum, it would have acquired 490,196 ETH. At Ethereum’s current market value, this investment would be worth over $1.8 billion, yielding a return of over $1.63 billion.

Thus, MicroStrategy’s initial crypto investment missed out on an additional profit of $671 million by choosing Bitcoin over Ethereum.

MicroStrategy Forfeited $12.82B+ Profit

From a broader perspective, Saylor’s firm has invested approximately $7.59 billion in acquiring 214,400 Bitcoins. This investment is worth over $14.45 billion, yielding a profit of about $6.87 billion, with Bitcoin trading at $67,238.

Blockchain Center suggested that a similar investment in Ethereum would have given MicroStrategy a portfolio of 4,986,791 ETH. With ETH trading at $3,692, this portfolio would be worth approximately $18.4 billion.

Even at Bitcoin’s all-time high of $73,750, MicroStrategy’s investment would be worth $15.8 billion, still significantly less than an equivalent investment in Ethereum.

Considering ETH’s recent yearly peak of $4,092, the hypothetical Ethereum investment would have been worth over $20.41 billion. Essentially, Michael Saylor missed out on a profit of $12.82 billion, double the gains from Bitcoin, by not investing the $7.59 billion in Ethereum.

Meanwhile, the projected profit would be magnified further when additional gains from the ETH staking service are factored in. It bears mentioning that Saylor has vehemently emphasized that MicroStrategy would not be selling its BTC holdings despite the current profit it holds.

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