From decrypt by Jason Nelson

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor with Bitcoin laser eyes. Image: Michael Saylor/Twitter

MicroStrategy officially joined the Nasdaq 100 on Friday, cementing its place among an elite group of companies. Nasdaq announced the listing in a press release detailing the annual changes to the Nasdaq-100 index. MicroStrategy's MSTR stock rose on news of the listing in after-hours trading 0.57% and is currently trading at $411.00, starting the day at $400.07, according to MarketWatch.

For Bitcoin enthusiasts, this milestone is a moment of vindication, showcasing how far the cryptocurrency industry has come in gaining institutional recognition.

Created in 1985, the Nasdaq 100 is an index of the top 100 non-financial companies on the Nasdaq Stock Market. These companies include Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia. The Nasdaq 100 serves as a benchmark for insights into performance and investor sentiment toward non-financial companies.

Founded by Michael Saylor in 1989, MicroStrategy is a business intelligence and analytics solutions company; in recent years, the company has become equally, if not more, well-known for its aggressive Bitcoin strategy.

Under Saylor, MicroStrategy began acquiring Bitcoin in 2020 as part of a bold—or foolhardy, as detractors said—$425 million investment. Fast forward four years, and MicroStrategy has only doubled down in its belief in Bitcoin, increasing its holdings by $1.5 billion earlier this month.

Currently, MicroStrategy holds over 423,650 BTC, worth around $42.8 billion, making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.