Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy surges as Bitcoin breaks past $78K

Michael Saylor's Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, surged during market hours on Apr. 17.

This came after Bitcoin (BTC) managed to surpass the $78,000 mark. 

Related: Bloomberg analyst warns against overreading Bitcoin and gold debate amid Iran war

What's moving Bitcoin?

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands at $78,209.10, up 4.7% over the prior 24 hours. 

The broader market recovery appears driven by investors looking past the Iran conflict. WTI crude fell more than 11.9% to $83.42 a barrel, while U.S. equities surged, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each adding 1.7% and the Dow climbing higher.

The optimism has a clear political source. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that negotiations were progressing and hinted a permanent peace agreement could emerge from weekend talks, saying a deal with Iran was looking likely and would be a favorable one. 

He shared earlier that the Strait of Hormuz was fully open and operational. 

The announcement came hours after a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Apr. 16, following which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that commercial shipping through Hormuz would resume.

The Lebanon truce had been a central Iranian precondition in broader negotiations, fueling expectations that direct U.S.-Iran talks could follow within days.

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Strategy surges on Bitcoin's green signal

Bitcoin's price movement influences Strategy's balance sheet massively. Ever since its pivot from being a simple software company to a Bitcoin treasury giant, the company has weathered multiple seasons of crypto volatility.

In fact, its close ties with Bitcoin also raised questions on its stability and its identity last year. MSCI thought about delisting companies from its indices whose balance sheets have more than 50% allocation to digital assets. 

After months of back and forth, the decision was temporarily delayed. If this had gone through, then Strategy would have been among the first to be sacked from indices.

This year, Strategy reported sitting on about $14.5 billion in unrealized paper losses during the first quarter. This was because of the gap between Bitcoin’s market value and the company’s higher acquisition price.

As of Apr. 17, Strategy holds 780,897 BTC worth $60,817 million at the current Bitcoin price. This effectively makes it the largest public Bitcoin holding company.  

Bitcoin's movement above the $78,000 mark also helped Strategy during the market hours. At around 12:00 PM ET, Strategy was up 13.83% and trading at $169.54. 

Related: Bitcoin is not fighting the system, warns veteran strategist