MicroStrategy has cut 20% of its workforce as its bitcoin buying multiplies \ stacker news ~Stacker

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MicroStrategy has cut 20% of its workforce as its bitcoin buying multiplies www.marketwatch.com/story/microstrategy-has-cut-20-of-its-workforce-as-its-bitcoin-buying-multiplies-ae8c1b5b

745 sats \ 61 comments \ @Aardvark 19 Feb Stacker_Stocks

It looks like to me that they're phasing out the software side completely and going full BTC treasury. I guess their plan is to just print money and position themselves as a BTC middle man?

The biggest cuts were in research and development, which lost 144 jobs, followed by consulting, which shed 124 jobs, and sales and marketing, which lost 95 jobs

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219 sats \ 12 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

Sad to see. I think this is terrible. What ever happened to being a legitimate business and using your excess revenues to save in the hardest money ever?

249 sats \ 11 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

Apparently it's a lot more profitable to short the USD than to produce anything. If/when coinbase gets hacked it's going to be absolute carnage.

77 sats \ 1 reply \ @denlillaapan 19 Feb

Financialization for he win.

Everything is a money trade now

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

And it’s sad to see

59 sats \ 7 replies \ @kepford 19 Feb

The Coinbase centralization issue is a massive risk. I fully expect insurance businesses to arise (we are already seeing them but its early) as a counter to the risk. The thing is... Coinbase is so large that a Mt Gox type attack would be massive.

That said, I expect Coinbase is actually doing a decent job with security of their wallets (just my gut). To me the risk is that a few companies have so much bitcoin in custody.

In general the public doesn't realize how vulnerable companies are to attacks and how often they happen. I think its one of those lessons we are doomed to learn the hard way.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 19 Feb

Xapo cold storage

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

Coinbase definitely has a massive target on their backs. How Saylor trusts them with custody of that much btc is insane.

93 sats \ 4 replies \ @kepford 19 Feb

I am not going to pretend to disagree with you but it is possible he knows something we do not about Coinbase. Basically that they would do a better job securing it than his company. That's my guess at least.

57 sats \ 2 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

I agree, he definitely knows something that we don't, but that's still a lot of trust.

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56 sats \ 0 replies \ @ken 19 Feb

Coinbase uses 2 Trezors and puts them in separate buildings.

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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

A blood bath for sure. I’m sure I will zapping the link to the story here on SN

51 sats \ 34 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

I feel like this company is in a transition. They started as software but how long until they spin out that part and become a pure play BTC company?

166 sats \ 3 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

It looks to me like they're going pure BTC, and support on their current software. No more RnD makes me think they will slowly let their software go obsolete and quit offering support.

109 sats \ 2 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

Even though I am not a fan of Saylor I dont think he is stupid and thats why I think he would spin out that software part or at least the software part that has no attachments to BTC it would reap billions which he could use to either pay off the loans he took for BTC or further by more BTC

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

I definitely don't think he's stupid either, which is scary. What could someone do with that much bitcoin 10 years from now?

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

Because the company is public and it would be wildly expensive for him to even attempt to go private it is all in the public at least. Plus we can link a name to the wallets associated with him so if he goes crazy he can be tracked down easily

80 sats \ 28 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

What is a BTC company? Just hold it and get wealthy and add what back to society?

79 sats \ 19 replies \ @kepford 19 Feb

There is a market good or utility to holding / trading companies but I don't know the econ theories well enough to explain it. I think the simple way to explain it is that they create a signal to the rest of the market about a good by taking the risk early on and reaping either the penalty or reward depending on how their bet pans out.

I mean... its basically what we plebs are doing but on a larger scale. Because they have bigger bags and better credit they can play with more risk and more money. The deeper reason why they are able to do what they are doing is simply the fiat system. If I were Saylor I'd be doing it too.

80 sats \ 16 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

I disagree. Us plebs have to work sustain life. This company doesn’t have that. I thought the whole idea of going into business was to pool capital and share risk of trying to bring a good or service to the market that people will consume. Once you stop doing that what other purpose does a company serve? If he has ambitions of being a bank then he should get a banking charter and operate as one.

155 sats \ 6 replies \ @SpaceHodler 19 Feb

From the Austrian perspective, capital (and speculating on how to allocate it) provides as much value to society as innovation.

Speculating on the appreciation of assets involves risk. Before you put your capital on the line you have to do a lot of research, and others get a cheaper signal from you than their own research would cost them. You remove an efficiency from the market and that's where your profits come from.

It's an important part of the economy, because the economy needs price signals.

9 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 19 Feb

Bingo. Thank you.

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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 19 Feb

George Gilder makes a similar argument

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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

Yeah but a central bank in bed with the government creates bailouts. Which makes it almost impossible to know is Buffett a good allocator of capital or is just another beneficiary of the money printer. Go back to 2008 if USA didn’t bail out the economy ultra rich guys would have gotten destroyed.

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213 sats \ 7 replies \ @kepford 19 Feb

Like I said, an economist could explain the utility of companies that speculate and hold or trade assets. I get the instinct you have and I share it but also what I have read about this topic is compelling as well.

The problem with what you are saying is that one can take that logic to basically say we shouldn't have stock markets at all because they are all just grifters. And then you end up in a socialist econ where there isn't a system to determine the market prices and risk ratios of companies.

I don't like the financial world... but as long as they aren't stealing my money like the state does and they are just gambling with their money I'm OK with it. Hard for me to get worked up about it really. People gonna gamble.

55 sats \ 6 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

Nah I think the stock market is great. But that doesn’t mean I can’t criticize unfeathered greed. Like a wise man once said to me in a podcast (Professor Penn) a man can only eat one steak a day, only drive one car day, having an excess of a billion dollars or more just seems to be accepted. Soon as someone says hey maybe this person should distribute his wealth more, maybe into his employees or whatever the jump is made to socialism/Communism.

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74 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

Uh.... I could be crazy but if you by stock in the company then bam. You eliminate you issues you mentioned? Being a BTC bank doesnt exist yet. BTC has a price and the amount the company hold has a value. It is the same as a precious metal company be it gold or silver they have the minerals its just the cost of processing and selling them.

40 sats \ 0 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

If I were Saylor I'd be doing it too.

He would be an idiot to not take advantage of the system the way he is. I agree.

85 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

The easy way is to look at it from the perspective of gold. There is only X amount. Gold goes into all sorts of computer chips decreasing the supply and increasing the price. That is before countries and companies hold it to help their balance sheet. In a way BTC plays the same thing

98 sats \ 5 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

Honestly it would be a company entirely based off of its BTC held. Companies dont have to give back to society and I mean I guess they could further the BTC idea but given the wild amount they hold that would be the value. If you think the value is going up you would by them and down sell them just like BTC but a company.

89 sats \ 0 replies \ @SpaceHodler 19 Feb

Anyone who is non-coercively wealthy gives back to society, otherwise they wouldn't be wealthy. Non-coercive wealth can only come from providing value.

In this case the gift to society would be an accelerated BTC/fiat price discovery, meaning the BTCUSD price being closer to its real value of ∞.

30 sats \ 3 replies \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

Yeah we have that now it’s called Warren Buffet and his $300B balance sheet while workers in his company get paid crap wages.

80 sats \ 2 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

Look Buffet doesnt make the crazy multipliers that other CEOs do. He has become as successful and has saved countless companies because of his cash balance. It is clear as day he thinks there is either a company or an industry that could have some issues soon and guess what. He will buy a stake in them they wont lay off all there people and the company will rebound.

The guy has done this time and time again. Look at Apple and Oxy oh and Bank of America.

51 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB 19 Feb

Buffet himself is a net negative on an economy in my humble opinion. He has this massive hoard of cash and most of his employees can afford to buy a house or afford healthcare and end up getting on government assistance.

Most of his companies he owns don’t innovate or bring revolutionary products to the market that changes mankind forever. He was super late on apple and he hates bitcoin that alone should tell you he’s not the smartest guy everyone makes him out to be. Besides didn’t most of his wealth come from buying coke which half of the world is addicted to and causes massive health issues.

GEICO a company he owns was laying off people because margins got tight. Instead of using his capital to develop humans to maybe do something else of value within his umbrella of companies he just laid them off.

I know free a lot “free market” guys thinks Buffet “earned” that $300B on his balance sheet and is a master allocator of capital I think differently. Hoarding all that cash and not trying to improve the lives of your employees is what wrong with corporate culture today.

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68 sats \ 1 reply \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

Just a shot in the dark, I bet he ends up loaning btc at an absurd interest rate in the future when fiat becomes completely worthless. I'm not exactly sure what else he could be planning, but his business model is "horde bitcoin" and nothing else so far.

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 19 Feb

That is where the software part comes into play. He can spin it off for billions still and that would cover a hell of a lot of the loans.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ndBlindDog 19 Feb

I think they will transition into some sort of Bitcoin products company. Maybe some software things like the Orange Check for email if thats even still alive, maybe some banking type products, maybe some other types of Bitcoin products to facilitate between businesses.

I can't image a publicly traded company with NO products. I can definitely understand wanting to shutter the intelligence software business, they just simply cannot compete going forward.

41 sats \ 8 replies \ @User21000000 19 Feb

What do they even sell anyway?

9 sats \ 3 replies \ @nichro 19 Feb

Invented radio on the internet

Just kidding. I don't know either.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @TheBTCManual 19 Feb

This guy stacks!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @User21000000 19 Feb

Stackers got to stack

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 19 Feb

ROI = radio on internet

silicon valley on HBO was a great show

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

They are technically a software company

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @User21000000 19 Feb

But literally what software haha does anyone even use any of it “Business intelligence software “ apparently

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

I literally have no idea what that is lol.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @User21000000 19 Feb

Must be worth a lot of cash…. As they seem to have plenty of it. Probably has one customer us gov and the money printer

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @realBitcoinDog 19 Feb

This is why I don’t buy $MSTR and stick with Bitcoin

What I want is Bitcoin, not equity risk

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Aardvark OP 19 Feb

Couldn't agree more.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 19 Feb

Nice nice nice

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 19 Feb

I guess you don't need that much staff to issue equity and bonds and turn around and buy Bitcoin, its like his private equity LBO'ing his own company, I get that the bitcoin trade is his new business model but wouldn't it be advantageous to use some of the income to grow the software business too?