MicroStrategy’s departure from its “never sell Bitcoin” pledge is creating communication challenges that could weigh on the price of Bitcoin in the near term, according to Standard Chartered analysts.
The digital asset treasury company sold $216 million in Bitcoin on July 6, reducing its holdings to 843,775 tokens, according to an SEC filing. The sale funded dividends on STRC preferred stock, which carries a 12% annual dividend rate, and replenished cash reserves of $2.55 billion.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said the mixed messaging around the sales “are muddying the waters for BTC near-term.” He published his analysis on July 12, days after the transaction disclosure.
MicroStrategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor responded to early criticism with a Sunday social media post stating that “Orange dots tell only part of the story,” referring to visual representations of the company’s Bitcoin holdings. Saylor did not elaborate on the statement.
The company unveiled a capital framework in early July that explicitly allows Bitcoin sales to fund dividends on the preferred shares. This marks a sharp reversal from the founder’s long-standing stance that MicroStrategy would never sell its Bitcoin.
Kendrick argued that the core issue lies not with the sales themselves but with how they are framed. “The problem with the ‘never sell’ approach is that it limits what MSTR’s BTC holdings can do, or, perhaps more importantly, what they are perceived to be doing,” he wrote.
Standard Chartered forecasts Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by year-end. Kendrick suggested that clear communication of MicroStrategy’s strategy could stabilize the STRC preferred stock price, potentially eliminating the need for further Bitcoin sales. “We think effective communication of MSTR’s new strategy (using BTC to back STRC) is key to reassuring markets that wholesale selling is unlikely; this should in turn support BTC prices,” he said.
He added: “Indeed, if this signalling proves effective, it should remove the need for MSTR to actually sell any BTC by supporting STRC’s price.”
STRC preferred shares, introduced one year ago at $100 par value, hit their lowest price since launch last month. MSTR common shares have declined more than 70% since July 2025, closing Friday at $94.64 against a 52-week high of $457.22.
MicroStrategy is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on July 30. Analyst consensus expects earnings per share of $4.28. The company has missed earnings forecasts in six of the last eight quarters, posting a 33.76% negative earnings surprise in Q1 2026.
