Group One Trading Bets on MicroStrategy With a 13.5% Stake

San Francisco-based proprietary trading firm Group One Trading has acquired a stake in American technology company MicroStrategy. 

According to a United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Group One Trading now owns nearly 1.3 million shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR). This amounts to 13.5% of the company’s shares which is equivalent to $237 million at the MSTR current share price.

For Group One, this seems to be a beneficial position, especially with its goal of making markets in the U.S. equity options as well as providing liquidity across several securities.

The company has been in operation for almost thirty-four years offering options trading services. Group One Trading holds a physical presence on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, New York Stock Exchange Amex and Arca, and Nasdaq PHLX.

MicroStrategy Holds 132,500 BTC Units

MicroStrategy is gradually becoming a household name in terms of Bitcoin (BTC) holding volume and showcases why more firms are taking a position in it. 

As of December 2022, the company’s BTC holding reached 132,500 units with a previous purchase of  2,395 BTC. Today, these 132,500 BTC are worth a little over $2.3 billion even though they were acquired at a total of $4.03 billion at an average price of $30,397 per coin.

Amidst all of the bearish events which happened in 2022 including the resignation of the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Saylor and about 70% dip in its share prices, MicroStrategy still emerged as the largest BTC holder followed by crypto miner Marathon Digital Holdings. MicroStrategy shares have been on a run with a slight pump for BTC this year, its shares are up 30% year to date.

MicroStrategy kept expanding its Bitcoin holdings with more purchases in the last year. Most of the time, it leveraged falling BTC prices to enter the market.

The American business software vendor goes as far as acquiring loans to sponsor its coin purchases. Many perceive the company as a Bitcoin proxy that allows traders who for certain reasons, do not plan to directly own the digital coin, to place bets on the direction of the coin.