Key Takeaways:
Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million on July 6, days after buying 3,657 bitcoin at higher prices, per CoinDesk.
The company disclosed an $8.32 billion second-quarter loss on its bitcoin holdings as the price fell from about $68,000 to roughly $60,000.
Strategy still holds 843,775 bitcoin at an average cost of $75,476, and the sales appear designed to protect its 12% STRC preferred dividend.
Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million on Monday, CoinDesk reported, days after buying 3,657 bitcoin at higher prices. The company also disclosed an $8.32 billion loss on its bitcoin holdings for the second quarter.
The sale caps a strange month for the largest corporate bitcoin holder. Strategy sold a tiny 32 bitcoin in late May with the price near $74,000, watched bitcoin fall below $58,000 last week, and bought thousands of coins in between. The analyst KALEO calculated on X that the sequence added a net 69 bitcoin for roughly $20 million deployed, an implied cost above $289,000 per coin. That number is worth sitting with.
Why Strategy Is Selling Bitcoin Now
CoinDesk reports the moves look designed to protect the dividend on STRC, Strategy's preferred stock, which pays 12% after a recent half-point increase. STRC climbed back toward $90 on Monday while bitcoin and Strategy's common stock fell, and Cantor Fitzgerald says the company's recovery hinges on restoring STRC to par.
Strategy still holds 843,775 bitcoin at an average cost of $75,476, underwater with bitcoin near $63,500. The quarter's loss reflects a slide from about $68,000 on April 1 to roughly $60,000 at the end of June.
With cash reserves covering more than 17 months of dividends, CoinDesk expects purchases are off the table for now and any further sales stay small. Crypto balance sheets keep getting stress-tested, from the BIS warning that stablecoins fall short of trusted money to Tether lending against its $23 billion gold reserve, and Strategy just became the biggest test case. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
Why is Strategy selling its bitcoin?
CoinDesk reports the sales protect the 12% dividend on Strategy's STRC preferred stock, which the company has prioritized as bitcoin trades below its average purchase price.
How much bitcoin does Strategy still hold?
Strategy holds 843,775 bitcoin at an average cost of $75,476, the largest position of any publicly traded company.
How big was Strategy's second-quarter loss?
The company disclosed an $8.32 billion loss on its bitcoin holdings as the price fell from about $68,000 on April 1 to roughly $60,000 at the end of June.
Will Strategy sell more bitcoin?
Its cash reserves now cover more than 17 months of preferred dividends, so CoinDesk expects any further sales to be limited in size.
Sources: CoinDesk, CoinDesk (sale detail), KALEO on X