MicroStrategy subsidiary will purchase Bitcoin after closing $205M crypto-collateralized loan

MacroStrategy, a subsidiary of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, said it will purchase Bitcoin after obtaining a multimillion dollar loan from Silvergate Bank.

In a Tuesday announcement, MicroStrategy said Silvergate issued a $205 million loan “secured by certain Bitcoin held in MacroStrategy’s collateral account.” The firm’s subsidiary MacroStrategy will be using the proceeds of the loan to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), pay fees and interest related to the loan and handle general corporate expenses.

“The SEN Leverage loan gives us an opportunity to further our position as the leading public company investor in Bitcoin,” said MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. “Using the capital from the loan, we’ve effectively turned our Bitcoin into productive collateral, which allows us to further execute against our business strategy.”

Launched in 2020, the Silvergate Exchange Network leverage service allows firms to secure BTC-collateralized loans for U.S. dollars. According to the bank, it had roughly more than $570 million in commitments as of Dec. 31.

Since making a $250-million BTC investment in August 2020, MicroStrategy now holds billions in the crypto asset following separate buys using the company’s cash on hand and proceeds of sales of convertible senior notes in private offerings to institutional buyers. With the BTC price at $47,806 at the time of publication, the firm’s 125,051 coins are worth roughly $6 billion.

Related: MicroStrategy CEO won’t sell $5B BTC stash despite crypto winter

Silvergate has helped provide capital to many companies involved in the crypto and blockchain industry. In October, the bank issued a $100-million credit line to crypto mining firm Marathon Digital to be used for funding its operations as well as expanding the number of BTC miners. Crypto.com announced a partnership with Silvergate in November aimed at allowing institutional clients to deposit and withdraw from the crypto exchange using U.S. dollars.

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