David Blennerhassett

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

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<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">MicroStrategy Inc (MSTR US)</a> is trading at a ~2% discount to NAV as the crypto rout moves into a higher gear.  </li>
<li>Bitcoin briefly dipped below US$25k in the last 24 hours, an 18-month low. If it falls another 18%, this will trigger a margin call on one of MicroStrategy's loans.</li>
<li>All is not well elsewhere in cryptoland. Ethereum touched a 17-month low; the Luna/Terra ecosystem has crashed; and crypto lender Celsus capitulated ~60% this morning after freezing withdrawals. </li>
</ul>

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<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">MicroStrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US)</a> is now trading at a ~26% discount to NAV as the bitcoin barbeque continues.  </li>
<li>Bitcoin is down ~40% YTD. If it falls another 24%, this will trigger a margin call on one of its loans.</li>
<li>Should bitcoin decline to US$17.5k, MSTR's crypto bet falls short of its debt obligation; debt that its software ops are not sufficiently profitable enough to service. </li>
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<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US)</a> reported a net loss of $155.6mn in the fourth quarter, compared to the net loss of $124.3mn in the 4Q21. </li>
<li>MSTR took a non-cash digital asset impairment charge of $170.1mn in the first quarter, up from $146.6mn in the 4Q21. </li>
<li>A bet on MSTR is a bet on bitcoin. Yet MSTR is down 37% YTD, compared to ~20% for bitcoin. </li>
</ul>

Full disclosure - I'm somewhat of a cryptocurrency sceptic. I think Bitcoin is not an "investment" but a "speculation." SEC officials have stated their view that bitcoin is not a “security” for purposes of the US federal securities laws. It has zero correlation with the real economy and zero fundamentals - and can potentially go to zero.  It is, in my view, digital Monopoly money.
I stop short of calling Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme. There are no centralised actors here primed to bail (or at least no publicly-self-identifying centralised actors)
BUT - and there's always a but - Bitcoin is a recognised commodity. And it is possible to obtain crypto Visa cards and store crypto in a PayPal account, which lends a certain confirmation bias with the support of these traditional financing systems. Or perhaps the transaction fees revolving around cryptos are simply too big to ignore. 
And there is an increasing number of jurisdictions world-wide granting money transmitter licenses to cryptocurrency exchanges - although news overnight of the UK watchdog banning crypto exchange Binance serves to illustrate the issues surrounding these regulated activities.  
This all brings us to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US)</a>. 
As of the<a href="https://www.microstrategy.com/en/investor-relations/press/microstrategy-acquires-additional-bitcoins-and-now-holds-over-105000-bitcoins-in-total_06-21-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 21 June</a> MicroStrategy holds  "approximately" 105,085 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of $2.741bn and an average purchase price of $26,080/ bitcoin.
Microstrategy is, in effect, a holding company for bitcoin. Stub ops are largely immaterial.
That stash of "coins" is currently worth US$3.6bn versus Microstrategy's current market cap of US$5.4bn. This is before factoring in the three hard-currency fund-raising exercises in the past six months. Mmm.
More below the fold.

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<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">Microstrategy Inc(MSTR US)</a><a href="https://www.microstrategy.com/content/dam/website-assets/collateral/financial-documents/press-release-archive/microstrategy-announces-fourth-quarter-2021-financial-results_02-01-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> reported</a> a net loss of $90mn or $8.43/share in the fourth quarter, missing consensus estimates for a profit of US$0.89/share.</li>
<li>The loss is predominantly due to the inclusion of impairment losses of US$146.6mn on its Bitcoin holdings, negating the $110.5mn in gross profit from the software ops.</li>
<li>MicroStrategy remains a bet on Bitcoin. Yet almost any alternate cryptocurrency security appears a better bet, if that is your bent.</li>
</ul>

United States

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides business intelligence software and related services.  The Company's technology platform enables departments and enterprises to deploy Web-based reporting and analysis solutions.  MicroStrategy also offers consulting, training, and support services.  Solutions are provided to retail, finance, telecommunications, insurance, dot-com, and healthcare industries.

Microstrategy Inc Cl A - MSTR US

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