New York, Jan 5, 2026, 17:27 ET — After-hours
- Strategy said it bought $116 million of bitcoin in the first four days of 2026, lifting holdings to 673,783 coins.
- A regulatory filing flagged a $17.44 billion fourth-quarter unrealized loss on digital assets.
- Shares were up about 4.8% in late trading as bitcoin rose about 3.4%.
Shares of Strategy Inc (MSTR.O) rose 4.8% in after-hours trading on Monday after the company disclosed a fresh bitcoin purchase and flagged a $17.44 billion fourth-quarter unrealized loss on digital assets.
The disclosure matters because Strategy has become one of the market’s most direct equity proxies for bitcoin moves, with investors treating its stock as a leveraged way to bet on the token. Monday’s filing put the spotlight back on how quickly quarterly results can swing when crypto prices move.
It also refocused attention on how Strategy funds its buying. The company has leaned on stock sales and a cash buffer to keep adding bitcoin while servicing preferred dividends and interest on debt.
Strategy said it bought 1,283 bitcoin between Jan. 1 and Jan. 4 for $116.0 million, taking total holdings to 673,783 coins. It said the purchases were funded with proceeds from an at-the-market offering (ATM), a program that lets a company sell shares into the open market over time.
The company said it sold 735,000 Class A shares from Jan. 1 through Jan. 4 for net proceeds of $116.3 million, following net proceeds of $195.9 million from 1,255,911 shares sold from Dec. 29 through Dec. 31. It said about $11.39 billion of common stock capacity remained available under that ATM program as of Jan. 4.
Strategy’s quarterly update also included the $17.44 billion unrealized loss, which is a paper hit that reflects changes in market value rather than coins sold. It paired that with an associated deferred tax benefit — an accounting item tied to future tax offsets — of $5.01 billion, and said its outside auditor had not reviewed or audited the figures.
Strategy said it ended Jan. 4 with a $2.25 billion U.S. dollar reserve set aside to support dividend payments on preferred stock and interest on outstanding debt, and said it could adjust the reserve based on market conditions and liquidity needs.
Bitcoin was up 3.4% to about $94,333 late Monday, helping lift other crypto-linked shares including Coinbase Global, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms.
A key risk is that a renewed bitcoin slide or weaker appetite for Strategy’s share issuance forces steeper dilution, or limits the company’s ability to keep buying while meeting cash obligations. Index treatment is another overhang ahead of an MSCI decision due by Jan. 15, after it consulted on whether crypto-heavy “digital asset treasury” firms should be excluded from some benchmarks; “The conversation already extends beyond just MSCI… to the eligibility of DATs in equity indexes in general,” Kaasha Saini, head of index strategy at Jefferies, told Reuters. Reuters
Traders will be watching whether the stock holds above Monday’s $161-$168 range and whether bitcoin sustains its rebound. On the calendar, MSCI’s Jan. 15 index decision looms, with Strategy’s next earnings report expected in early February, according to Nasdaq’s earnings calendar.
