On March 16, Strategy — the company co-founded by Michael Saylor and the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder — disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that between March 9 and 15 it acquired 22,337 BTC for approximately $1.57 billion, at an average price of $70,194 per coin.
The disclosure came on the same day Bitcoin touched $74,509 during the Asian session, its highest level since February 4. According to CoinDesk, with this addition, Strategy’s total holdings now stand at 761,068 BTC, accumulated over the years at a total cost of approximately $57.61 billion and an average price of $75,696 per coin. MSTR shares jumped 4% in pre-market trading.
As CryptoTimes reported, this marks the first time in 2026 that Strategy raised more money through its preferred shares program, STRC — known as “Stretch” — than through the issuance of common MSTR shares. Specifically, it sold 11.8 million STRC shares for $1.18 billion, and 2.8 million MSTR shares for an additional $396 million.
It also marks the company’s twelfth consecutive weekly purchase of the year and the fifth largest in its entire history, surpassing even the 22,305 BTC block acquired in January, according to CoinGape. A day before the official SEC filing, Saylor himself had telegraphed the move by posting on X the phrase “Stretch the Orange Dots” — a direct reference to the financial instrument used to fund the purchase.
Bitcoin Hits 40-Day High, Triggers $113M in Short Liquidations
According to Coinpedia, Bitcoin’s price surged roughly $1,800 in just 30 minutes during the early morning hours, reaching a 40-day high of around $74,300 and triggering approximately $113 million in short liquidations — bets that the price would fall — across major exchanges.
Meanwhile, the total crypto market cap surpassed $2.52 trillion during the session. Bitcoin crossed above its 50-day moving average — sitting at $71,125 — for the first time in roughly two months. That average is one of the most closely watched medium-term momentum indicators among technical analysts and institutional investors.
The daily BTC/USDT chart on Binance, tells a story that has evolved from previous weeks. The EMAs — exponential moving averages — still show the 10-period below the 55, keeping the structural classification as a medium-term downtrend, a legacy of the decline from the all-time highs of $126,000 in October 2025.
However, three secondary indicators tell a different story. The ADX — which measures the strength of any trend, regardless of direction — is pointing upward at 26, signaling that buying pressure is gaining force.
The Squeeze Momentum Indicator remains active with growing green histogram bars since mid-February, a setup that has historically preceded bullish continuations. Meanwhile, the RSI has climbed to 59.58, a level indicating positive momentum without entering overbought territory — suggesting the bullish impulse still has room to run before hitting technical resistance on that front.
What lies ahead this week is the FOMC — Federal Open Market Committee — meeting scheduled for March 17–18, where the Federal Reserve will release its dot plot — its members’ interest rate projections — and Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference. Markets are not expecting rate cuts at this meeting, given that Brent crude remains above $104 per barrel and energy inflation continues to limit the central bank’s room to maneuver.
What is at stake is the tone of the statement: any signal that the Fed is considering easing its stance in the coming months could be the catalyst that pushes Bitcoin to sustainably break above $75,000 — the technical threshold that several analysts point to as the trigger for the next significant leg higher.