Both Palantir's Alex Karp and MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor share a willingness to pursue unconventional strategies.
Karp has taken Palantir from a defense-focused company to an AI innovator with a growing commercial presence, while Saylor has made bitcoin the core of MicroStrategy’s corporate identity.
“We’ll just keep buying the top forever; every day is a good day to buy bitcoin,” the founder and chairman of MicroStrategy (MSTR) recently told CNBC.
“I would have bought Manhattan 100 years ago, 200 years ago, every year for the past 300 years. You pay a little bit more than the person that bought Manhattan before you, but it’s always a good investment to invest in the economic capital of the free world,” Saylor said.
On Dec. 23, MicroStrategy officially joined the Nasdaq 100 index, along with Palantir Technologies (PLTR) .
Related: Analysts sound alarms on Palantir stock into 2025
Palantir’s stock has been viral this year, more than quadrupling (up 368%), fueled by its prominence in artificial intelligence data analytics for government and commercial clients.
MicroStrategy has delivered an even stronger performance, with its shares quintupling (up 436%) year-to-date.
Bitcoin ETF as MicroStrategy catalyst
MicroStrategy was primarily known for its business intelligence software before it pivoted toward Bitcoin.
Saylor had initially dismissed bitcoin in 2013, calling it a bubble. But since 2020, he has become one of its most vocal advocates.
In 2020, MicroStrategy purchased $250 million of bitcoin, and it went on to make large purchases of the largest cryptocurrency.
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In 2022 Saylor stepped away from his role as CEO to become executive chairman, and he said this was an ideal entry point to buy bitcoin.
"As executive chairman I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives," Saylor said.
Its stock performance now highly depends on the price of bitcoin. The company’s meteoric rise this year has been primarily driven by bitcoin’s resurgence in the latter half of 2024.
"We're kind of like your nonexistent spot ETF," Saylor told CNBC in 2022.
Buying a bitcoin exchange-traded fund means investors can invest in the crypto without finding an exchange, setting up a wallet, and handling the hassle of buying and storing bitcoin.
In January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first spot bitcoin ETFs.
Earlier this month, the 12 spot bitcoin ETFs collectively exceeded $100 billion in assets under management, holding just over 1.1 million bitcoin, according to CNBC.
Bitcoin's surge was bolstered by the crypto-friendly policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump. Lask week, bitcoin touched a record price above $108,000.
MicroStrategy has been aggressively buying bitcoin in December.
The company purchased some 42,162 bitcoins for $4.16 billion cash, an average price of $98,676 per bitcoin, from Dec. 2 to Dec. 22.
As of Dec. 22, the company held 444,262 bitcoins, acquired at a total cost of $27.7 billion, an average purchase price of $62,257 each. It is now one of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency.
MicroStrategy could own 4% of the world’s bitcoin: Bernstein
On Dec. 12 the investment firm Bernstein commented that MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 would lead to its addition to major ETFs like QQQ, boosting not only ETF inflows but also visibility and recognition.
Even as MSTR trades at a 147% premium to its bitcoin net asset value and relies on issuing equity and debt to fund purchases, Bernstein says the company can sustain this strategy through at least 2025, supported by a favorable regulatory environment.
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The investment firm views MicroStrategy’s bitcoin treasury model as unprecedented on Wall Street, describing it as an "insatiable path" to attract billions in global capital for bitcoin.
Bernstein doubled its price target to $600 from $290 on Nov. 25 with an outperform rating. The firm projects that MicroStrategy could own 4% of the world’s bitcoin within the next decade.
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