MSTR stock jumps 12% with Bitcoin—but Saylor warns of ‘difficult years’

Strategy [MSTR] shares jumped more than 12% on Wednesday as Bitcoin’s sudden recovery spilled into crypto-linked stocks.

The price of the stock was around $103.76 after it briefly got to the $106.90 level, as Bitcoin gained a more modest 5.59%.

For Strategy shareholders, though, the strong session comes after months of pain due to the price fall. The stock traded near $190 in May and recently fell towards $90, and Michael Saylor is still telling investors not to expect an easy ride from here.

Bitcoin puts MSTR back above $100

MSTR started Wednesday at $94.54. By the end of trading, it had gained 12.15%, with 33.85 million shares changing hands.

The Bitcoin price rise provided the backdrop for the stock price move, with $BTC moving from below $65,000 to nearly $70,000 before dropping to around $68,297.

That price move tends to matter more for Strategy than for other companies because of its relationship with $BTC.

Strategy owns 840,447 $BTC, so MSTR has become a way for stock-market investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without buying it directly. The relationship can exaggerate moves in both directions.

Wednesday showed the upside of that relationship, while the past few months showed the other side.