MicroStrategy has officially resumed Bitcoin accumulation after a two-month hiatus, purchasing 4,603 Bitcoin for $369.7 million at an average price of $80,318 per coin between August 24-30, 2026. The company sold 4,531,421 Class A shares across the week and raised $602.8 million in net proceeds, with Bitcoin claiming the entire $369.7 million purchase amount. An additional $151.8 million was used to repurchase 1,557,177 STRC preferred shares, while $50.7 million covered STRC dividends and $30 million went to cash. The purchase follows weeks of speculation sparked by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor's 'We're ₿ack' post on X on August 30, 2026, which signaled a return to buying after the extended pause. This acquisition increased Strategy's total holdings from 840,447 BTC to 845,050 BTC, with the company having paid a combined $63.73 billion for those assets at an average cost of $75,412 per Bitcoin.
Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani project Bitcoin could reach $125,000 by year-end 2026 and set a record near $150,000 in mid-2027 under their base-case forecast. According to reports from Bernstein, the Wall Street research firm expects the asset to maintain its historical four-year cycle, with a more bullish scenario placing the next cycle peak at approximately $300,000 in 2029. The firm also retained its longer-term forecast of $1 million by the end of 2033. However, Bernstein has outlined an even more aggressive scenario where institutional capital moves rapidly into Bitcoin as part of the debasement trade, potentially pushing BTC to $200,000 by mid-2027 and peaking near $500,000 in 2029.
Despite maintaining an Outperform rating on Strategy, Bernstein lowered its MSTR price target from $450 to $350, representing about 176% upside from Strategy's closing price of $126.83 on August 25. As reported by Bernstein, the reduction was attributed to their revised Bitcoin cycle model and faster equity dilution. MSTR stock fell as much as 7.4% in pre-market trading on Monday, trading near $127.31 before the opening, down approximately 7.4% from Friday's close. The company's treasury announced on Monday that it had sold around 18.26 million MSTR shares and raised $2.01 billion, with $136.4 million used to repurchase 1.43 million 'Stretch' preferred stock and another $300 million going toward the USD Reserve. The remaining proceeds were used to build the company's new 'USD Cash' pool for greater Bitcoin purchasing flexibility. The company retained authority to sell another $19.09 billion of MSTR under its existing offering program, giving management room to fund further purchases, cash reserves or other capital-management activity.
MicroStrategy now holds 845,050 BTC bought for $63.73 billion, with an average cost basis of $75,412 per coin. Against Monday's Bitcoin market price near $78,023, the treasury sits 4.9% above cost. However, the latest tranche purchased at $80,318 per coin is already roughly 1.5% underwater, representing a $5.7 million paper loss inside seven days. The company's USD Reserve finished the week at $5.10 billion and USD Cash at $1.61 billion, with $6.71 billion combined across both accounts. Bitcoin futures open interest fell 2.7% over 24 hours to $54.8 billion, with prediction-market traders giving Bitcoin a 68% probability of reaching $85,000 by December 31, 2026. Canaccord analyst Joseph Vafi raised Strategy's price target to $175 from $130 while maintaining a 'Buy' rating, representing a potential upside of 37% from Tuesday's close.
Bitcoin was trading at $78,023 at press time after a hike of over 23% in the past month, though the rally lacks confirmation from strong spot market buying. Spot CVD remaining almost flat confirmed that sentiment indicates spot traders are not aggressively buying enough to explain the price increase. This can happen when leveraged traders in futures and perpetual markets are driving the move, with traders opening long positions and using leverage to push prices higher. The concern is that leveraged rallies can reverse quickly. Adding to market concerns, Wintermute, a major crypto market maker and liquidity provider, transferred around 5,100 BTC worth approximately $399 million to Binance over the past two days, creating the possibility of increased sell-side supply in the market. However, this transfer does not necessarily mean Wintermute is dumping Bitcoin but could rather be moving assets onto exchanges to provide liquidity or rebalance inventories.
Bernstein presented a second bullish path driven by rising government debt concerns and the end of the 40-year period of declining interest rates. According to the firm's analysis, U.S. sovereign debt has reached $40 trillion, increasing the cost of servicing federal obligations. The analysts suggested policymakers may respond to fiscal pressure through currency debasement rather than stricter spending measures, directing capital toward assets with limited supply including Bitcoin and gold. Recent trading activity in U.S. investment products has shown interest in the debasement trade, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and State Street's SPDR Gold Shares returning to the 10 most-traded U.S. ETFs. Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million coins, which underpins its scarcity narrative and could benefit from the worsening fiscal backdrop.
