Bernstein: MicroStrategy debt has a long maturity, which can cushion the impact of bitcoin volatility

MicroStrategy, which issues stock or zero-coupon debt secured by a small amount of bitcoin reserves in order to buy large amounts of bitcoin through simple arbitrage, announced in October that it plans to use these methods to raise $42 billion in three years and is accelerating toward that goal. "What MicroStrategy does is a Bitcoin leverage game," according to Bernstein analysts. The longer debt maturities provide the company with some cushion in case of immediate repayment or volatility in the bitcoin price, analysts say. Also, even if MicroStrategy has to issue stock to pay off convertible debt, the dilution of those shares to the company's equity is limited. " MicroStrategy is increasingly relying on issuing shares to buy bitcoin, but when it opts for a convertible bond, the bond buyer gets an option to convert it into company stock at a certain price, which is almost equivalent to a call option.