Strategy Buys Drive Bitcoin Rally to 76,000

Bitcoin has surged about 20 percent from its February lows, trading around 76,000, with corporate treasury firm Strategy emerging as the primary driver through aggressive purchases funded by its perpetual preferred stock, STRC, according to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan.

In a memo published this week, Hougan highlighted Strategy's acquisition of 7.2 billion worth of bitcoin over the past eight weeks as the single largest factor behind the rally. "Yes, there have been multiple drivers of the recent rally, including strong buying from ETFs, 3.8 billion since March 1, and renewed purchases by long-term holders. But Strategy has been the single biggest factor," he wrote.

Strategy, the largest publicly listed corporate bitcoin holder, recently bought 3,273 bitcoin for 255 million between April 20 and April 26, boosting its total to 818,334 coins. This surpassed global asset manager BlackRock's holdings of about 812,300 bitcoin on behalf of clients. The company typically purchases bitcoin weekly, with volumes varying from a low of 855 coins in February to a high of 34,164 on April 20 this year.

These buys are financed primarily through STRC, a perpetual preferred equity...