Feb 5 (Reuters) - Strategy, the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin , reported a fourth consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday as the company booked an impairment charge on its stockpile of the cryptocurrency.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company booked impairment losses from digital assets of $1.01 billion in the quarter, compared with $39.2 million a year ago.

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy and founded by Michael Saylor, has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the soaring popularity of bitcoin. Its shares jumped nearly five-fold last year, helping it secure a spot in the Nasdaq 100 index in December.

The shares fell 0.7% in extended trading.

The company began buying and holding bitcoin in 2020 as revenue from its software business waned. Strategy held about 471,107 bitcoins as of Feb. 2.

Last year, Strategy unveiled plans to raise $42 billion over the next three years to buy more bitcoins.

The company's net loss was $670.8 million, or $3.03 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $89.1 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Line chart showing Strategy's bitcoin cache since 2020

NEW NAME

The company earlier in the day said it would now operate as "Strategy" and unveiled a new logo to emphasize its commitment to the cryptocurrency space.

The rebranding was "a natural evolution" as it seeks to integrate bitcoin — the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency — into the heart of its business operations, the company said.

Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said the company probably wanted to emphasize bitcoin as its core business and to distance away from the software arm, which is no longer material.

The company continues to be an aggressive investor in bitcoin. In the statement on Wednesday announcing its rebranding, MicroStrategy defined itself as the world's "first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company".

Its new logo includes a stylized "B" that signifies its bitcoin strategy, it said.

Line chart depicting MicroStrategy's shares in past 1 year