Michael Saylor’s firm offloads BTC to fund preferred stock dividends as ETF outflows mount
Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin globally, sold 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31 at an average price of $77,135 per coin, raising $2.5 million to fund distributions on its STRC preferred stock instrument. The sale marked the company’s first bitcoin disposal since December 2022, when it sold 704 BTC near the bear market bottom at approximately $18,000 each before buying back 810 BTC two days later.
Strategy disclosed the transaction via 8-K filing on June 1. As of May 31, the company held 843,706 BTC, representing approximately 4% of bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply. At current prices on that date, the holdings were valued at $61 billion against a total cost basis of $63.9 billion including fees, implying a paper loss of $2.9 billion.
Michael Saylor, Strategy’s founder, framed the sale as consistent with a net-accumulation strategy. “The company would buy 10 to 20 bitcoin for every one it sells,” Saylor said, signaling that STRC-driven disposals would not derail long-term holdings growth. On the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, Saylor outlined the dividend sustainability math: “Bitcoin needs to appreciate at just 2.3% per year for the company’s existing holdings to cover STRC dividend obligations in perpetuity — without selling common stock.”
The sale occurred during a period of broad institutional bitcoin liquidation. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs logged a record 10-session outflow streak between May 15 and May 29, draining $2.97 billion. Bitcoin fell below $72,000 immediately following the 8-K disclosure. Over the 24 hours prior to the filing, bitcoin declined 3%, triggering $93 million in crypto futures liquidations in a single hour, with 95% of those liquidations concentrated in long positions. Bitcoin accounted for $72.34 million of that hourly spike. Across all cryptocurrencies, 24-hour liquidations totaled $402 million, affecting 135,585 traders and comprising $275 million in long liquidations and $127 million in short liquidations.
MSTR shares fell 5.15% in premarket trading following the filing. The company has maintained an aggressive acquisition posture in prior years, and some market participants have drawn parallels to the December 2022 sale-and-buyback as a potential bottoming signal, though the parallel is far from certain.
Strategy’s balance sheet reflects diversified funding sources beyond bitcoin sales. The company raised $128.3 million through an at-the-market common stock program in the week prior to the filing, with $26.1 billion remaining under that authorization. Cash reserves stood at $900 million as of May 31. In addition, Strategy used $1.38 billion in cash to retire $1.5 billion in face value of convertible notes due 2029 at an 8% discount to par.
