A widely shared post on X claims that “five years ago today, Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought Bitcoin for the first time at $11,500,” and that MicroStrategy now holds 628,791 BTC with a $28.4 billion unrealized profit [1]. We reviewed primary sources and independent trackers to verify each part.

What’s confirmed

MicroStrategy announced its first Bitcoin purchase on Aug. 11, 2020, stating it had acquired 21,454 BTC for $250 million as it adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset [3]. Coverage at the time corroborated the move [2]. That transaction implies an average purchase price near $11,650 per BTC, based on the disclosed totals [3].

What’s in question

• Current holdings (628,791 BTC): We could not verify this figure. Reputable trackers of disclosed holdings show historically lower totals, and we have not located a company disclosure that matches 628,791 BTC as of publication [4]. The viral number remains unsubstantiated [1].
• $28.4B unrealized profit: This depends on a verified current BTC balance, an aggregate cost basis, and a timestamped BTC price—inputs that were not provided with the claim and cannot be validated from available sources [4].

Context and next steps

We are monitoring official company communications for the latest audited holdings. Independent aggregation sites, such as BitcoinTreasuries.net, provide context but company disclosures take precedence when available [4]. We will update this report once a current, verifiable holdings figure is disclosed and will provide a transparent unrealized P/L calculation using the company’s reported cost basis and a timestamped BTC price.

Corrections and clarifications

The viral post refers to “Michael Saylor’s Strategy,” but the entity holding the Bitcoin is MicroStrategy Incorporated [1],[3].

Methodology

We prioritized primary sources (company press releases, contemporaneous reporting) for historical facts about the first purchase [3],[2]. For the unverified current-holdings claim, we cross-checked reputable trackers of disclosed holdings for consistency and sought a matching company disclosure; none matching 628,791 BTC was found at the time of publication [4].

Sources

1. Viral post claiming MicroStrategy holds 628,791 BTC and $28.4B unrealized profit (WatcherGuru on X) [1]
2. CoinDesk: MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin as Treasury Reserve Asset (Aug. 11, 2020) [2]
3. MicroStrategy press release: Purchases 21,454 Bitcoins for $250 Million (Aug. 11, 2020) [3]
4. BitcoinTreasuries.net: MicroStrategy Bitcoin Holdings (tracker) [4]