MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) increases its investment in Bitcoin, causing the price of digital assets to rise accordingly.

Bitcoin prices rose on Thursday, a move closely related to a plan announced by MicroStrategy (MSTR.US). The company plans to issue more shares to raise funds to purchase more Bitcoin. This news stimulated market sentiment and pushed up the price of Bitcoin. As of the time of writing, the Bitcoin price had dropped by 0.17% to $98,088, after earlier reaching an intraday high of $99,876.70. The broader cryptocurrency index, including Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin, also recovered from Wednesday's decline, rising by 0.2%. Sean McNulty, the trading director at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, pointed out that the major reason for the rise in Bitcoin prices was MicroStrategy's announcement of issuing more shares next year to buy more Bitcoin. According to a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23rd, MicroStrategy Inc. is seeking to increase the authorized shares of Class A common stock and preferred stock, providing the company with more funds to accumulate Bitcoin. Earlier this week, MicroStrategy announced that it had made additional purchases of Bitcoin worth $561 million at near historical high average prices, marking its seventh consecutive week of purchases. Bitcoin has risen by 135% year to date, surpassing the returns of traditional investments such as global stocks and gold. However, some traders warned that with a large number of open Bitcoin and Ethereum derivative contracts set to expire, the market may experience volatility in the coming days. On Friday, the open contracts on the derivative exchange Deribit are set to reach a record $43 billion, including $13.95 billion in Bitcoin options and $3.77 billion in Ethereum options. McNulty from Arbelos Markets stated that market makers may unwind hedges and short Bitcoin, potentially causing market fluctuations on Friday.