Digital insurer Metromile follows through with $1M Bitcoin purchase
San Francisco-based technology firm Metromile has used 10% of the funds it previously said would be allocated towards crypto to buy Bitcoin (BTC).
According to Tuesday's filing from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, Metromile reported that it had purchased $1 million in Bitcoin in June. However, the firm recorded a loss of $100,000 in the original crypto buy, holding roughly $900,000 in Bitcoin as of June 30, or 25.6 BTC at the time.
Metromile’s financial report for the second quarter of 2021 says the company held $202.6 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, meaning its Bitcoin investment was roughly 0.5% of funds available. Some experts advocate allocating from 1% to 3% of one’s net worth into crypto.
The SEC filing follows the company saying in May it intended to allocate $10 million towards Bitcoin in the second quarter of 2021. At the time, Metromile said it would allow its policyholders — Metromile offers pay-per-mile car insurance — to pay for its services and receive compensation from claims in Bitcoin.
Related: MassMutual Bitcoin purchase proves crypto demand is rising, JPMorgan says
In the second quarter of 2021, Metromile announced the number of its policies in force had been “roughly flat” compared to that of Q1 due to “industry-wide unexpected regulatory delays.” However, the firm’s insurance revenue increased more than 22% over that of the same period last year.
Shares of Metromile stock trading under the Nasdaq ticker MILE dropped sharply on Monday, having stayed above $7.00 since May. The price fell roughly 25% in the last two days from $6.97 to reach $5.24 at the time of publication, making its market capitalization now $660 million.