Strategy Inc. disclosed Monday that it had sold 32 bitcoin for roughly $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31, marking its first bitcoin sale since December 2022. The move, intended to fund distributions on its preferred stock, represents a notable departure from Michael Saylor's longstanding buy-and-hold approach.
The company, which remains the largest publicly traded bitcoin holder with 843,706 coins worth $63.87 billion, said the sale was executed at an average net price of $77,135. The divestiture amounts to just 0.004% of its total holdings, but the disclosure sent shares down 5.9% to $149.78, while bitcoin slipped 3.1% to $71,359.
Shifting Capital Strategy
Strategy is working to support a larger and more complex capital structure. The filing indicates that proceeds from bitcoin sales will be used to pay dividends on preferred stock, which typically ranks ahead of common shares. This marks a shift from the pure accumulation thesis that had defined Strategy since it began buying bitcoin in 2020.
Michael Saylor did not directly address the bitcoin sale in his first public statement after the move. Instead, he highlighted the company's variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, STRC. "Our goal is to make STRC the best credit instrument in the world," Saylor said on X, as reported by CoinDesk. STRC's regular dividend remains at 11.50% annually for monthly periods starting June 1.
Analyst Reactions
Analysts are divided on the significance of the sale. TD Cowen's Lance Vitanza described headlines suggesting a meaningful reduction in bitcoin holdings as "misleading," calling the transaction "economically immaterial" and noting it does not undermine the accumulation thesis. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, however, believes the sale could shift investor perception. "Now, investors should view Strategy's bitcoin holdings as providing a viable backstop for the funding of preferred dividends," he told CoinDesk.
Not all analysts see this as a positive development. Zach Pandl, research head at Grayscale, noted that "bitcoin does not produce cash flows, so sales were inevitable at some point to cover dividend obligations." If bitcoin prices remain soft or raising capital through preferred stock becomes more difficult, investors may begin pricing in additional asset sales or dilution from new share issuance.
Broader Market Context
In addition to the bitcoin sale, Strategy raised $128.3 million in net proceeds by selling 801,994 Class A common shares through its at-the-market program. The company ended May with $900 million in U.S. dollar reserves. The news also stirred activity on prediction markets: a Polymarket contract on whether Strategy would sell bitcoin by May 31 saw over $50 million in volume, though the resolution is in dispute because the company sold before the deadline but delayed the announcement until June 1.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, positions itself as the world's first and largest bitcoin treasury company, while also developing enterprise analytics software. Several smaller digital-asset treasury firms have followed its model, but many have scaled back as crypto prices and premiums for treasury stocks have tightened. Still, firms like Bitmine, Strive, and Metaplanet continue to accumulate.
