Bitcoin on steroids: Shares in MicroStrategy are up fivefold in a year but its boss once lost $6bn in a day - so should you invest?
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For an asset that has spent most of its short, chequered life lurking in the shadows of the financial system it was perhaps fitting that bitcoin broke through the $100,000 barrier for the first time in the dead of night. The flagship cryptocurrency which has been favoured by drug dealers and money launderers surged past the milestone just after 2.45am on December 5, and this week hit a new high of $108,379.
![[Rough day: Saylor once lost $6bn on paper in a day at the height of dotcom mania in 2000 after MicroStrategy restated two years of revenue]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/21/93333787-14211125-image-a-3_1734643930828.jpg)
Its huge advance has made some investors willing to turn a blind eye to the risks, and millions have been piling in. But it is not just crypto itself that has been soaring. Shares in MicroStrategy, a US company that is essentially a turbocharged bet on bitcoin, have risen by more than 550 per cent in the past year.
That makes them one of the best performers on the US stock market – and British private investors have stampeded in, despite the considerable risks. MicroStrategy was the most-bought share in November, according to Interactive Investor, the UK’s second-biggest investment platform.
Controversial: MicroStrategy was founded by Michael Saylor (pictured) a tech entrepreneur whose 10% stake in MicroStrategy is worth $9bn on paper. The company was founded by Michael Saylor, 59, a controversial tech entrepreneur whose 10 per cent stake in MicroStrategy is worth $9billion (£7.2billion) on paper. So, is buying these shares a route to get rich quick – or the road to ruin?.
