MicroStrategy faced a new wave of selling pressure in early January after reporting a significant adjustment to its Bitcoin holdings. This impact deepened a decline the stock had been experiencing for several months and reduced the premium at which the stock traded against the underlying cryptocurrency.
MicroStrategy reported a $17.44 billion charge to balance its holdings after the price of Bitcoin fell 24% during the fourth quarter of 2025. The company stated that the adjustment was purely accounting-related but had a significant impact on market perception.
On January 6, MicroStrategy’s stock (MSTR) experienced an intraday decline of approximately 4.4%, which analysts and traders directly attributed to the magnitude of the reported unrealized loss for the quarter.
This episode is key because MicroStrategy’s stock performance is now closely tied to Bitcoin’s volatility and its accounting effects, rather than the company’s traditional operating results. This alters risk calculations for traders and treasuries that use the stock as a proxy for BTC exposure.
Key data cited in reports and market coverage illustrate this dynamic: an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion in Q4 2025, compared to an unrealized gain of $14.0 billion recorded in Q2 2025 under the same accounting model. This contrast reflects how the price movements of the underlying asset dominate the reported results.
MicroStrategy’s performance history, market context, and operations
Contrary to some headlines suggesting an eight-month downtrend, the data showed that MicroStrategy had accumulated five consecutive months of negative returns through November 2025. This track record highlights a marked volatility anchored to the price of Bitcoin, characterized by sharp accounting swings rather than a linear deterioration in the company’s operations.
In fact, in the second quarter of 2025, the company had recorded a significant unrealized gain, which contributed positively to operating income. However, that effect reversed in subsequent quarters as Bitcoin retreated, exposing the asymmetry of the fair value accounting model.
In parallel, MicroStrategy’s market capitalization fell below the notional value of its Bitcoin holdings. This reduced, or even eliminated, the historical premium investors were willing to pay for leveraged corporate exposure to BTC. General risk aversion and uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy also contributed to the stock’s weakness.
Despite the short-term reaction, the company’s long-term narrative remains intact. Michael Saylor publicly reiterated his view that Bitcoin could reach $150,000 by the end of 2025, a projection that contrasts with the market’s immediate sensitivity to accounting adjustments and quarterly volatility.
