Risks Related to Our Outstanding and Potential Future Indebtedness:
We may be unable to service our indebtedness, which could cause us to default on our debt obligations and could force us into bankruptcy or liquidation;

Overview  
 
MicroStrategy® recently announced that it considers itself the world’s first Bitcoin development company. We are a publicly-traded operating company committed to the continued development of the Bitcoin network through our activities in the financial markets, advocacy and technology innovation. As an operating business, we are able to use cash flows as well as proceeds from equity and debt financings to accumulate bitcoin, which serves as our primary treasury reserve asset. We also develop and provide industry-leading AI-powered enterprise analytics software that promotes our vision of Intelligence Everywhere™, and are using our software development capabilities to develop bitcoin applications. Our software business, which we have operated for over 30 years, is our predominant operational focus, providing cash flows and enabling us to pursue our bitcoin strategy. We believe that the combination of our operating structure, bitcoin strategy and focus on technology innovation differentiates us in the digital assets industry.  
 
Bitcoin Strategy
 
Our bitcoin strategy includes (i) acquiring bitcoin using cash flows from operations and proceeds from equity and debt financings, (ii) developing product innovations that leverage Bitcoin blockchain technology, and (iii) periodically engaging in advocacy and educational activities regarding the continued acceptance and value of bitcoin as an open, secure protocol for an internet-native digital asset and the Lightning Network.
 
Bitcoin Acquisition Strategy
 
We believe that bitcoin is an attractive asset because it can serve as a store of value, supported by a robust and public open-source architecture, that is untethered to sovereign monetary policy. We also believe that, due to its limited supply, bitcoin offers the potential to serve as a hedge against inflation in the long-term and, if its adoption increases, the opportunity for appreciation in value.  
 
In September 2020, our Board of Directors adopted a Treasury Reserve Policy (as amended to date, the “Treasury Reserve Policy”) that updated our treasury management and capital allocation strategies, under which our treasury reserve assets will consist of:
 
•
cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments (“Cash Assets”) held by us that exceed working capital requirements; and
•
bitcoin held by us, with bitcoin serving as the primary treasury reserve asset on an ongoing basis, subject to market conditions and anticipated needs of the business for Cash Assets.
In the first quarter of 2021, we adopted, in addition to and in conjunction with our Treasury Reserve Policy, a corporate strategy of acquiring and holding bitcoin, and from time to time, subject to market conditions, issuing debt or equity securities or engaging in other capital raising transactions with the objective of using the proceeds to purchase bitcoin.  
 
Our bitcoin acquisition strategy generally involves acquiring bitcoin with our liquid assets that exceed working capital requirements, and from time to time, subject to market conditions, issuing debt or equity securities or engaging in other capital raising transactions with the objective of using the proceeds to purchase bitcoin. We view our bitcoin holdings as long-term holdings and expect to continue to accumulate bitcoin. We have not set any specific target for the amount of bitcoin we seek to hold, and we will continue to monitor market conditions in determining whether to engage in additional financings to purchase additional bitcoin. This overall strategy also contemplates that we may (i) periodically sell bitcoin for general corporate purposes, including to generate cash for treasury management (which may include debt repayment), or in connection with strategies that generate tax benefits in accordance with applicable law, (ii) enter into additional capital raising transactions that are collateralized by our bitcoin holdings, and (iii) consider pursuing strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our bitcoin holdings.

A significant decrease in the market value of our bitcoin holdings could adversely affect our ability to service our indebtedness
 
As a result of our bitcoin acquisition strategy and our Treasury Reserve Policy, the majority of our assets are concentrated in our bitcoin holdings. The concentration of our assets in bitcoin limits our ability to mitigate risk that could otherwise be achieved by purchasing a more diversified portfolio of treasury assets. Accordingly, a significant decline in the market value of bitcoin could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

At December 31, 2023, we carried $3.626 billion of digital assets on our balance sheet, consisting of approximately 189,150 bitcoins

The 2028 Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured, on a senior secured basis with the Company’s existing and future senior indebtedness, by a security interest in substantially all of the Company’s and the Subsidiary Guarantors’ assets (the “Collateral”). The Collateral includes any bitcoins or other digital assets acquired by the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor on or after June 14, 2021, but excludes bitcoins held by MacroStrategy and certain other excluded assets. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 16,081 of the bitcoins held by the Company serve as part of the Collateral. MacroStrategy is the Company’s subsidiary formed to hold bitcoins and digital assets that are not included in the Collateral, including bitcoins acquired before June 14, 2021, bitcoins that MacroStrategy acquired using the proceeds from the 2025 Secured Term Loan, and bitcoins purchased by MacroStrategy from contributions made to it by the Company with the proceeds from sales of the Company’s class A common stock, such as sales of the Company’s class A common stock pursuant to the equity offerings described in Note 13, At-the-Market Equity Offerings, to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Les analystes sont dans les starting-blocks sur le sujet d’une possible approbation des ETF Ethereum au comptant. Un dossier où la SEC des États-Unis a encore brillé par sa capacité à jouer les prolongations, autant que cela est légalement possible. C’est la raison pour laquelle tout le monde s’accorde déjà sur le mois de mai prochain.
 
En effet, c’est à cette date que le régulateur US ne pourra plus reporter sa décision. Et, comme dans le cas de l’ETF Bitcoin au comptant, tout laisse penser que son approbation se fera de manière groupée. Cela afin de ne pas risquer d’être taxé de favoritisme ou de privilégier le premier inscrit.
 
Mais le dossier Ethereum semble peser plus lourd sur la table de Gary Gensler. En cause : l’option de staking ouverte sur la cryptomonnaie ETH du fait de la version Proof of Stake (PoS) de sa blockchain. C’est la raison pour laquelle les sociétés Coinbase et Grayscale rencontrent actuellement les responsables de la SEC.
 
Une pression qui ne semble pas persuader les analystes du média Bloomberg, comme Eric Balchunas. En effet, ce dernier vient de revoir son estimation à la baisse. Pour rappel, il affichait une probabilité positive de l’ordre de 70 % en janvier dernier.
 
« Les chances d’approbation de l’ETF Ethereum d’ici la date limite de mai sont tombées à 35 %. Je comprends toutes les raisons pour lesquelles ils DEVRAIENT l’approuver (et nous pensons personnellement qu’ils devraient le faire), mais tous les signes/sources qui nous rendaient optimistes pour le spot BTC ne sont pas là cette fois. »
Eric Balchunas
 
Toutefois, Eric Balchunas se veut rassurant. En effet, il ne manque pas de préciser que « 35 % n’est pas 0 %. C’est toujours possible, et à long terme, cela se produira. » La question est maintenant de savoir quand. À moins que BlackRock n’ait un autre son de cloche…
 
Dans le même temps, le leader mondial de la gestion d’actifs, BlackRock, semble plus confiant. En effet, l’analyse récemment embauché Matt Kunke (ex-GSR, JP Morgan et Crédit Suisse) estime que la possibilité d’une approbation à l’échéance du mois de mai reste ouverte à 75 %.
 
« Nous prévoyons une approbation au comptant de l’ETF Ethereum en mai avec une probabilité estimée à 75 %. Cette perspective optimiste est fondée sur la victoire de la Cour d’appel de Grayscale et l’approbation ultérieure de l’ETF Ethereum Futures, suggérant collectivement que l’approbation d’un ETF Ethereum au comptant n’est qu’une question de temps. »
 
Toutefois, cet avis date de la fin du mois de janvier dernier. Mais l’absence de mise à jour sur le sujet suggère que la société BlackRock reste campée sur cette position, au moins tant qu’elle n’a pas été officiellement démentie. Et cela même si la perspective d’une simple « question de temps » prend une toute autre tonalité au regard du rectificatif émis par Bloomberg.
 
Il semblerait que la SEC traine plus lourdement les pieds dans le dossier des ETF Ethereum au comptant. Et cela pourrait bien remettre en cause la date limite de sa décision officielle, qui peut toujours s’avérer négative. Peut-être que les 5 raisons d’approuver cette option financière récemment présentées par Coinbase n’ont pas été suffisamment persuasives. Une affaire à suivre…