MicroStrategy CEO: Bitcoin ownership boosts brand, shareholder value

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor said Friday that the company's well-publicized Bitcoin (BTC-USD) holdings have helped raise the company's brand profile, while the cryptocurrency itself has created billions of dollars of value for its shareholders. Saylor told CNBC that he views Bitcoin "like electricity or like steel or like fire" -- an era-defining technological advancement. Alternatively, the MicroStrategy CEO compared buying cryptocurrency to early investments in companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). Saylor's remarks followed quarterly results from the company, in which MicroStrategy said it would continue to expand its current holding of 105,000 Bitcoins. This, despite an impairment loss of $424M in the quarter due to the fluctuating value of its crypto holdings. Overall, the company reported a quarterly profit that rose dramatically from last year. Revenue beat expectations, rising 13% from last year to reach $125.4M. Commenting on the firm's core enterprise software business, Saylor characterized the