Original | Odaily

Author | jk

Although traditional internet giants' increased holdings of Bitcoin often stem from the diversification purposes of multi-asset allocation (alternative investments), industry insiders often see it as a positive signal for firmly bullish on crypto, and even follow suit with the idea of "following the smart money" in their operations.

But the recent earnings season has exposed the following situation - under the crypto bear market, major companies' Bitcoin positions are also largely floating losses; different companies have different investment strategies, either reducing holdings and taking profits at the right time, or holding steady and HODLing, or firmly buying and lowering the average holding cost.

Odaily has compiled a summary of the business overview, stock performance, latest developments, and Bitcoin holdings information (current quantity, average cost, gains/losses) of these seven companies: Microstrategy, Galaxy, Tesla, Block Inc., Hut 8, Marathon Digital Holdings, and Meitu. We would like to kindly remind everyone that financial report disclosures have information lag and should not be used as a sole investment reference indicator.

Microstrategy

MicroStrategy is an enterprise that provides highly specialized business intelligence, mobile software, and cloud solutions. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Tyson's Corner, Virginia, USA. MicroStrategy offers a variety of analytics and mobile software solutions for data visualization, reporting, and dashboards. These solutions are often used to help companies better understand, monitor, and leverage their data.

The company's latest product, MicroStrategy ONE, is a comprehensive, modern, open, and cloud-driven analytics platform designed to be a single solution for all analytics use cases. From self-service data analysis and business reporting to advanced applications and embedded solutions, the platform aims to "unleash the power of data" to help companies gain a competitive edge.

Under the leadership of CEO Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy has also notably become one of the companies with massive Bitcoin investments, using it as a reserve asset strategy.

According to the second quarter financial report of 2023, the company recorded a depreciation expense of $24.1 million for its holdings of Bitcoin in the second quarter, compared to $917.8 million in the same period last year and $18.9 million in the first quarter of this year. The impairment of the company's digital assets reflects the decline in the price of Bitcoin relative to the acquisition price.

MicroStrategy CFO Andrew Kang said in a statement, "As of July 31, 2023, our holdings of Bitcoin have increased to 152,800 coins, with an increase of 12,333 coins in the second quarter of this year. This is the largest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2021. We have effectively raised funds through our market equity program and continue to increase our Bitcoin on the balance sheet using operating cash. We do this against the backdrop of increasing institutional interest, progress in accounting transparency, and clearer regulation of Bitcoin."

Currently, the average price of Bitcoin held by MicroStrategy is approximately $29,668.

According to Coingecko data, the total cost of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings is $4.127 billion, and the current value of these bitcoins is approximately $3.97 billion, accounting for about 0.728% of the total Bitcoin supply. The data shows that 46% of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin assets were purchased in 2020. In the third and fourth quarters of 2020, MicroStrategy purchased 38,250 coins (average price of $11,151) and 32,220 BTC, respectively. As of August 17th, these BTC account for 46.12% of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin assets.

As of the current date, the total market value of MicroStrategy is $49.51 billion, with a share price of $351.48 per share. Compared to approximately $246.91 six months ago, the stock price has significantly increased, with a growth of approximately 42%. However, the stock has also experienced volatility within the year, reaching its peak in early July at approximately $475.09 per share. Since then, the stock price has declined. These price fluctuations may reflect the market's diverse evaluation of MicroStrategy's strategies in business intelligence and Bitcoin investments.

Galaxy Digital

Galaxy Digital is a financial services and investment management company based in New York City that specializes in digital assets and blockchain technology. Since its establishment in 2018, the company has been building a comprehensive financial platform, which includes three complementary operational businesses: global markets, asset management, and digital infrastructure solutions. Galaxy Digital aims to combine financial complexity with technological expertise to connect institutions with Web3 innovation.

The company offers a range of financial services, including trading, lending, strategic consulting services, institutional investment solutions, proprietary Bitcoin mining and custody services, network validation services, and the development of enterprise custody technology. Galaxy Digital has multiple offices worldwide, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

Founded and led by experienced hedge fund manager and former Goldman Sachs partner Mike Novogratz, the company has been at the forefront of driving the application and acceptance of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in mainstream finance. Through its diversified business portfolio and global influence, Galaxy Digital aims to provide comprehensive cryptocurrency and digital asset-related services to retail and institutional investors.

According to the Q2 2023 financial report, Galaxy Digital performed well amidst ongoing uncertainty and regulatory pressures. Novogratz stated that the company is heading towards long-term growth due to prudent risk management practices and a strong balance sheet.

In terms of finance, the net loss for the second quarter was $46 million, a significant decrease compared to the net income of $134.2 million in the first quarter of 2023. Operating expenses in the second quarter were $85.2 million, a decrease of 6% compared to the previous quarter and 34% compared to the same period last year. The company's partner capital (equity) at the end of the quarter was $1.5 billion, a 3% decrease from the end of the first quarter, but liquidity remains strong at $696 million as of June 30, 2023.

In terms of business, the trading revenue of Galaxy Global Markets (GGM) was $59.5 million, a 54% decrease compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to a decrease in net realized gains from digital assets and derivatives. Investment banking revenue was $0.45 million, primarily due to a slowdown in M&A and capital raising activities. Asset management revenue of Galaxy Asset Management (GAM) was $33.8 million, a 619% increase compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to an increase in net realized gains from investments on its venture platform. Mining revenue of Galaxy Digital Infrastructure Solutions (GDIS) was $15.4 million, a 51% increase compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to increased revenue from proprietary mining activities.

Currently, Galaxy holds approximately 12,545 bitcoins, valued at around $326 million.

Compared to other companies, Galaxy has relatively small stock price fluctuations, currently priced at $5.08. In the past year, the lowest price was $3.33 and the highest price was $8.3.

Galaxy stock price within one year. Source: Yahoo Finance

Tesla

For car consumers who are familiar with it, Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, with Elon Musk serving as CEO and major shareholder. The company was founded in 2003 and initially started with the production of high-performance electric sports cars, but later expanded into a wider consumer market, launching various electric vehicle models such as Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y.

In addition to electric vehicles, Tesla is also involved in renewable energy products, including solar panels, solar roofs, and residential and commercial energy storage solutions such as Powerwall, Powerpack, and Megapack. The company's goal is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.

In the second quarter of 2023, Tesla's financial performance exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The company reported a net income growth of 20%, reaching $2.7 billion, mainly due to cheaper raw materials, which helped offset the decline in vehicle prices. On the other hand, although new vehicle deliveries increased by 83% in the April to June period, revenue growth was not as strong, only rising by 47% to $24.9 billion. However, this revenue figure still exceeded the average expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet, which was $24.2 billion.

In the stock market, Tesla has also attracted a lot of attention. Its stock price has experienced significant fluctuations but overall shows a strong growth trend, becoming one of the world's highest-valued automakers. From an initial price of $108.1 at the beginning of the year to the current $245.01, Tesla's stock price has fluctuated significantly but overall has been on an upward trend. The highest point reached was over $290. This growth reflects the market's positive view of Tesla's continuous innovation and market leadership in the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors. Currently, the company's total market value has reached $77.7659 billion.

In the cryptocurrency field, Tesla has been continually monitored for its large holdings of Bitcoin, support for cryptocurrency payments, and Musk himself being a prominent figure in the industry. Tesla currently holds 10,500 bitcoins, with a current value of approximately $272 million, accounting for about 0.05% of the total Bitcoin supply.

However, Tesla has incurred significant losses due to its Bitcoin investments: The total cost of Tesla's Bitcoin purchases was $336 million, surpassing the current value by 23.5%.

Block Inc.

Block Inc. (formerly known as Square Inc.) is a multinational technology conglomerate founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. The company launched its first platform in 2010 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since November 2015, with the stock symbol "SQ".

Block Inc. originally started as a payment platform primarily targeting small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to accept credit card payments and use smartphones or tablets as point of sale (POS) terminals. Despite the company changing its name to Block Inc., its flagship product for small businesses is still referred to as "Square".

With the expansion of its business, Block Inc. now has multiple business segments. Cash App is a mobile application that enables money transfers between users and between users and businesses. Afterpay provides a "buy now, pay later" service. Weebly is a website hosting service, and Tidal offers subscription-based music, podcast, and video streaming services for audio and music videos.

Block Inc. is not only committed to providing financial and payment solutions, but also constantly venturing into emerging financial technology fields, including cryptocurrencies. Overall, the company aims to simplify the payment process and make it more seamless and convenient through its diversified and comprehensive financial solutions.

Block Inc. stock price over the year. Source: Yahoo Finance

The stock price of Block Inc. has shown significant volatility this year. It dropped from $64.64 at the beginning of the year to the current $58.17, with a market value of $35.488 billion. It's worth noting that the stock reached its peak, around $88, in early February but has since been on a decline. Despite the overall downward trend since the beginning of the year, it still shows some correlation with the general stock market and less correlation with cryptocurrencies compared to other stocks. Its market value remains relatively stable, indicating market confidence in this diversified financial technology company.

Block Inc. performed well in the second quarter of 2023, especially in a challenging economic environment. The company achieved a net income of $5.3 billion in the three months, which is an increase compared to $4.4 billion in the same period last year, surpassing Refinitiv's estimates. The financial technology company's gross profit grew by 27%, reaching $1.87 billion year-on-year. Additionally, the company raised its EBITDA forecast for 2023 from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

Block's main business, Cash App, has seen a 37% increase in gross profit, reaching $968 million. At the same time, Square's gross profit has also grown by 18%, amounting to $888 million. Company Chairman Jack Dorsey stated that the company will continue to focus on expanding in international markets, but is also seeking to control costs, including a review of stock-based compensation. He also mentioned that the company has started to hire more accurately, focusing on key roles and placing more emphasis on performance management. Adjusted, Block's earnings per share in the second quarter were $0.39, exceeding analysts' forecast of $0.36.

According to Coingecko's data, Block currently holds 8,027 bitcoins, with a holding cost of $220 million, which is now worth approximately $209 million, resulting in a relatively small loss.

Hut 8 

Hut 8 Mining Corp. is a Canadian Bitcoin mining company that focuses on Bitcoin mining using advanced hardware and data center resources. The company is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies in North America and has significant computing power. Hut 8 is not only a Bitcoin mining company, but also provides other services and solutions related to cryptocurrencies, such as high-performance computing.

Hut 8 typically sets up its mining facilities in areas with lower energy costs, such as some remote locations in Canada, to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. This allows the company to remain competitive in the highly competitive cryptocurrency mining market.

Hut 8's data center location. Source: Hut 8 Official Website

From the beginning of the year, the stock price of Hut 8 has risen from $0.818 to the current $2.37. The stock has shown significant volatility in 2023, but overall it is trending upwards. It reached a yearly high of around $4 in mid-July and then experienced a decline. Despite this, the stock price has still grown significantly compared to the beginning of the year. This price dynamic reflects investors' views on the company's performance and potential in the Bitcoin mining field. Currently, Hut 8 has a market capitalization of $526.7 million.

In the second quarter of 2023, Hut 8's revenue dropped to $19.2 million, a significant decrease from $43.8 million in the same period last year. During this time, the company also mined nearly 58% fewer Bitcoin, only 399. This is mainly due to the increase in the Bitcoin network difficulty, the suspension of operations at the North Bay facility, and ongoing power supply issues at the Delaney facility. Its High-Performance Computing (HPC) business also slightly declined, generating only $4.2 million in monthly recurring revenue compared to $4.7 million in the same period last year. At the end of the quarter, the company's computing power reached 2.6 EH/s (excluding the North Bay facility), and it held 9,136 self-mined Bitcoins. In this quarter, the company generated $14.7 million in revenue through the sale of 396 Bitcoins.

Currently, Hut 8 has a Bitcoin market value of approximately $242 million.

Last week, Hut 8 announced a merger with U.S. Data Mining Group, Inc. (doing business as "US Bitcoin Corp" or "USBTC"). The transaction is expected to create a new company called "New Hut" with headquarters in the United States. The new company will focus on economically efficient Bitcoin mining, diversified revenue streams, and industry-leading Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.

Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8, said they expect to receive approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the registration statement of "New Hut" in the near future. They believe that after completing this merger, the new company will become a stronger and more dynamic business entity, supported by a significant amount of fiat currency revenue derived from Bitcoin and the powerful hosting, mining infrastructure, and high-performance computing operations within North America.

Marathon Digital Holdings

Marathon Digital Holdings (formerly known as Marathon Patent Group) is a US company that primarily focuses on Bitcoin mining. The company was founded in 2010 and originally operated as an intellectual property (IP) company, but later transitioned into a firm dedicated to cryptocurrency mining and related activities.

Marathon Digital Holdings operates large-scale Bitcoin mining facilities and has multiple data centers across the United States. These data centers are equipped with high-performance mining hardware designed to mine new Bitcoins by solving complex mathematical problems and thereby participate in maintaining the Bitcoin network.

The company's goal is to become one of the largest and most efficient Bitcoin mining enterprises in North America. Due to its significant electricity demand, Marathon Digital Holdings also focuses on finding sustainable and cost-effective energy solutions.

In the mid-year financial report, Fred Thiel, the Chairman and CEO of Marathon, stated:

"At quarter-end, we held approximately $113.7 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and approximately 12,538 bitcoins with a market value of approximately $380 million as of June 30. While our cash position declined by $11.2 million from the first quarter, we added 1,072 bitcoins with a market value of approximately $32.7 million as of June 30."

"We accelerated our progress in the second quarter, significantly improving our hash rate and efficiency... In the second quarter, we increased our effective hash rate from 11.5 to 17.7 EH/s. By growing our hash rate faster than the rest of the network and improving our uptime, we also increased our bitcoin production. In the second quarter, we produced a record 2,926 bitcoins, or approximately 3.3% of the available bitcoin network rewards for the period."

However, Marathon's earnings and revenues fell below analyst expectations. Currently, Marathon holds approximately 12,964 bitcoins valued at around $336 million. However, its acquisition cost was only $189 million, achieving a return of approximately 78%.

As of now, the stock price of Marathon Digital Holdings is $12, which has significantly increased compared to the beginning of the year when it was approximately $4.09, almost tripling in value. The highest point reached during the year was $19.88. The company currently has a market capitalization of $2.091 billion. Such fluctuations in stock price and market capitalization may reflect the market's high interest in the company's strategies and performance in Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency investments. Despite a slight decline from the year's peak, the company's stock price remains strong compared to the beginning of the year, indicating optimistic long-term prospects from investors. However, considering the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, this stock performance may change at any time.

Photos of America

Photos of America is a Chinese technology company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and specializes in developing mobile applications and smartphones. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Xiamen City, Fujian Province. Its most well-known product is the photo editing and beautifying application called Meitu Xiuxiu, which has hundreds of millions of users worldwide. In addition to basic photo editing functions, the application also provides various beauty filters and AI-driven photo enhancement tools.

In 2010, Meitu established its R&D center, MT Lab, focusing on artificial intelligence and image innovation in fields such as computer vision, deep learning, and computer graphics.

As of December 2022, Meitu has reached 243 million monthly active users (MAU), with nearly 80 million of them from international markets. These international users are distributed across 22 countries and regions, each with 10 million or more users, including Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Pakistan, the United States, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Canada, Turkey, Russia, Myanmar, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Nepal.

In April 2021, Meitu announced holding nearly $100 million in cryptocurrency. According to the latest financial report, in the exchange filing of July, Meitu reported holding approximately 940 bitcoins and 31,000 ethers, with a total cost of $49.5 million and $50.5 million, respectively. Compared to the reported scale in 2021, Meitu's digital asset holdings have decreased by over $40 million. This decrease is twice the magnitude compared to the previous quarter.

Among them, the Bitcoin that cost nearly $50 million now worth only about $24.45 million.