This $71 Billion Bitcoin Whale Just Doubled Down—Here’s What They’re Buying
A single strategy now controls a staggering $71 billion in Bitcoin—and it’s not slowing down. Here’s where the smart money is flowing.
The Whale’s Shopping List
While Wall Street debates ETFs, this player’s stacking Satoshis like there’s no tomorrow. No fancy derivatives, just cold hard BTC—the ultimate 'screw you' to traditional finance’s fee machine.
Why This Matters
When a position hits $71 billion, it stops being an investment and starts moving markets. Watch for ripple effects across exchanges—and prepare for the usual suspects to suddenly 'discover' crypto again.
The Bottom Line
Someone’s betting the farm on Bitcoin eating fiat for breakfast. Either they’re the smartest guys in the room… or about to make history’s most expensive mistake. Place your bets.
#1) 55,500 BTC - November 25, 2024
Michael Saylor announced Strategy’s largest-ever purchase of Bitcoin, by both BTC and USD denominations, on November 25 last year. The purchase of 55,500 Bitcoin surpassed its previous top acquisition by more than $800 million.
In the hours after the Saylor announcement, Bitcoin dropped by about $4,000 to under $94,000, a 4% decrease from the average price paid by Strategy.
MicroStrategy has acquired 55,500 BTC for ~$5.4 billion at ~$97,862 per #bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 35.2% QTD and 59.3% YTD. As of 11/24/2024, we hodl 386,700 $BTC acquired for ~$21.9 billion at ~$56,761 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/79ExzXk4UM
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) November 25, 2024
2) 51,780 BTC - Nov. 18, 2024
The second-largest Bitcoin purchase in Strategy history came just one week before its largest-ever purchase. Though Bitcoin dropped shortly in the hour following the announcement, a rebound followed, and it reached a daily high of $92,653, just 2% shy of its all-time high price (set last week), according to data from CoinGecko.
The following day, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high price above $94,000. Strategy’s purchase brought its holdings to 331,200 BTC.
3) 29,646 BTC - Dec. 21, 2020
Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin purchase took place in December 2020 amid rising Bitcoin prices and bull market sentiment. The firm disclosed a purchase of 29,645 BTC for its fourth-ever Bitcoin acquisition.
Despite the purchase being the largest for Strategy at the time, Bitcoin price's was relatively unchanged in the 24 hours around the announcement. Data from CoinGecko showcases a Bitcoin open price of $23,518 on December 21, closing one day later at $23,795 for a negligible gain.
4) 27,200 BTC - Nov. 11, 2024
Less than one week after Donald TRUMP won his second election, Strategy announced a purchase of 27,200 Bitcoin. That stash was purchased during the timeframe of October 31 to November 10, a time in which Bitcoin ranged in price from $72,000 to $80,000.
However, following the Saylor announcement on the morning of November 11, Bitcoin moved violently upwards, closing the day at $88,637—a MOVE of more than 10%—after setting yet another new all-time high price after the election.
5) 22,048 Bitcoin - March 31, 2025
Strategy purchased nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin in February 2025 before following it up a month later with its fifth-largest purchase (as denominated in BTC) on March 31.
The firm added 22,048 BTC for around $1.92 billion amid market uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s tariff-fueled trade war. The purchase bumped the firm’s treasury to more than 528,000 Bitcoin at the time, but sent the share price of MSTR down, dropping approximately 3% when markets opened before rebounding.
But Bitcoin WOULD finish the first quarter on a downward trend, closing on March 31 at $82,514, more than $7,000 below Saylor’s reported average price.
The purchase marked a string of three straight weeks with a Bitcoin buy for the company, which was snapped in the following week. However, when buys restarted two weeks later, Strategy would go on to disclose weekly Bitcoin purchases for more than 3 months.
6) 21,550 BTC - December 9, 2024
Strategy’s sixth-largest purchase marks the highest average bitcoin price on this list, as the firm acquired more than 21,000 Bitcoin for nearly $99,000 on average. The buy brought up the average price of all of its lifetime Bitcoin purchases to $60,389 at the time.
However, the market didn’t react super positively to the latest announcement from Saylor and the company, as the price of Bitcoin decreased by more than 2.5% in the hours that followed, dropping below the average price of its purchase to $97,600. On the following day, Bitcoin broke even further downward, dipping below $95,000 briefly before rebounding to that level.
7) 21,454 BTC - August 11, 2020
Strategy’s seventh-largest Bitcoin purchase of all time was its first-ever purchase and the lowest recorded average price.
On the back of social restrictions and macroeconomic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, Saylor rationalized the company’s purchase saying, “Our decision to invest in Bitcoin at this time was driven in part by a confluence of macro factors affecting the economic and business landscape that we believe is creating long-term risks for our corporate treasury program—risks that should be addressed proactively.”
While the purchase has aged well, now up more than 900% at today’s Bitcoin price, the initial announcement meant little for Bitcoin’s price in the immediate aftermath. Bitcoin opened August 11, 2020 at $11,682 and closed the following day at $11,579—a negligible decline.
Editor's note: This story was originally published on November 19, 2024, and last updated with new details on July 28, 2025.
