Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold 3,588 BTC for $216 million on July 5, 2026, marking the largest single disposal since the company began accumulating Bitcoin in 2020. The average sale price of roughly $60,200 per coin fell about 20% below Strategy's aggregate cost basis of nearly $75,700 per BTC.

The company framed the sale as necessary to fund dividends on its "Digital Credit" securities, a term Saylor uses for preferred stock with voluntary, discretionary payouts. Strategy holds $2.55 billion in USD reserves and 843,775 BTC following the sale, according to Saylor's disclosure.

The cost-basis problem

Saylor spent six years pledging total commitment to Bitcoin accumulation. His public statements were unambiguous: "Never sell your BTC" and "Sell a kidney if you must, but keep the BTC." These declarations underlay Strategy's corporate strategy, which hinged on an assumption that Bitcoin would appreciate 30% annually on average. That premise has failed to materialize. Over the past five years, BTC has not achieved that rate and has not even recovered to Strategy's cost basis.

Under Saylor's 30% compound growth assumption, paying debt coupons and dividends at 12% or less annually would have made financial sense. But when Bitcoin stalled and then halved from its October 2025 peak, those fixed payment obligations became a problem. The sale arrived after a 52% decline from BTC's local high and amid obligation deadlines that Strategy's existing cash and Bitcoin appreciation could not cover.

Prior sales and the narrative shift

This is not Strategy's first crack in its permabull stance. In December 2022, Strategy sold 704 BTC, then repurchased them days later and called it tax-loss harvesting. In May 2026, Strategy sold 32 BTC without invoking any tax justification. The new sale of 3,588 BTC dwarfs both prior disposals and stands harder to rationalize, especially since Strategy already held billions in USD reserves before the transaction.

On June 29, Strategy had authorized a program to sell up to $1.25 billion worth of Bitcoin. The most recent sale represents the first substantial use of that authorization.

Market impact

Bitcoin's price fell roughly $1,000 per coin within ten minutes of Saylor's disclosure, erasing approximately $20 billion in market cap across the network. Strategy's common stock, MSTR, opened roughly flat from the prior Friday close but remains 78% below its 52-week high.