April 10 Reuters Short sellers betting against MicroStrategy have lost 1.92 billion since March, according to data from S3 Partners, highlighting the hit from a rally that has helped the stock outperform bitcoin .

The approval of several spot bitcoin exchangetraded funds ETFs by the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC in January has brought the oncenascent asset class closer to the mainstream.

Traders betting against crypto exchange Coinbase and bitcoin miner CleanSpark also lost 593.50 million and 106.40 million, respectively, the data showed.

MicroStrategy held nearly 190,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet as of the end of 2023 and has indicated it would continue increasing its exposure. It sold convertible debt twice within a week last month to raise money to buy more bitcoin.

The premium for MicroStrategy is supported by a desire for investors to have exposure to bitcoin who may be unable to invest directly in bitcoin or in ETFs, analysts at BTIG said in a note earlier in April.

The company39;s ability to raise capital to purchase additional bitcoin is also a positive for shareholders, the brokerage added.

But despite the recent optimism, the crypto industry continues to be heavily shorted. Short interest in nine of the mostwatched companies in the crypto space stood at 16.73 of the total number of their outstanding shares, more than three times the average in the United States.

The SEC also remains uncomfortable with crypto and its approval of the spot…