This 1 Number Says Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Sales Are About to End

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By Rich Duprey Published

Quick Read

  • Strategy sold Bitcoin at roughly $64,000 per coin to fund preferred stock dividends, taking a 15% loss on its $75,000 average cost.

  • STRC preferred stock has rebounded 35% from its June low to $95, and Saylor wants it at $100 before buying Bitcoin again.

  • Saylor rebranded Strategy from a bitcoin treasury company to a Digital Credit Framework, shifting priority from accumulating Bitcoin to servicing debt obligations.

  • The Motley Fool told its subscribers to buy Amazon in 2002, Netflix in 2004, and Nvidia in 2005. Stock Advisor still publishes two new stock picks every month — and over 23 years, has more than quadrupled the S&P 500. Click here to receive the next recommendation.

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This 1 Number Says Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Sales Are About to End

© Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Bitcoin treasury companies built their entire investment case on one promise: buy and hold, forever. Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction) was the company that made that thesis famous — and lately, the company that’s been quietly breaking it. 

Selling bitcoin used to be unthinkable for Michael Saylor’s firm. Now it’s routine. But the numbers behind those sales suggest the selling spree may be closer to its end than its beginning.

From Bitcoin Treasury to Digital Credit

Saylor no longer describes Strategy as a “bitcoin treasury company.” He’s rebranded the model as a Digital Credit Framework — an operating and capital structure built to support debt and preferred-stock obligations using Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as the underlying collateral, rather than simply stockpiling it for shareholders. That distinction matters, because it explains behavior that looks contradictory on the surface: a company famous for buying bitcoin is now selling it to keep other financial obligations current.

The clearest example is Strategy’s preferred stock. The Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock‘s (NASDAQ:STRC) dividends are funded through the company’s USD Reserve, and maintaining that reserve has become priority one. Last week, Strategy sold 1,638 bitcoin to raise $104.7 million specifically to bolster that reserve. Building long-term value for Strategy’s common shareholders — once the entire pitch — now reads as secondary to keeping the preferred stock’s dividend obligations funded.

An infographic illustrating a shift in Bitcoin investment strategy, featuring data tables showing losses on sales and a line graph of stock price recovery.
From 'buy and hold forever' to a $11,000 loss per coin—here is the hidden math driving Michael Saylor’s massive strategic pivot. © 24/7 Wall St.

The Selling Spree, By the Numbers

On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported that wallets believed to belong to Strategy transferred 1,030 BTC — worth roughly $66.14 million — on Wednesday. Strategy hasn’t confirmed that specific transaction, but the company routinely discloses weekly transactions in Monday filings, so official confirmation is still pending as of this writing.

Here’s what’s rattling crypto markets: Saylor has said publicly that Strategy’s buying pressure is a meaningful reason bitcoin trades as high as it does. Regular selling flips that dynamic, and investors are reasonably asking whether sustained outflows from the market’s largest corporate holder could weigh on price further.

The sales themselves aren’t flattering, either:

Metric Figure
Last week’s average sale price $63,957
Strategy’s average acquisition cost $75,419
Implied loss per BTC sold

~$11,462 (15.2%)

Selling below cost basis isn’t a sign of confidence. It’s a sign of necessity.

What It Would Take for the Selling to Stop

Here’s the more encouraging data point. The preferred stock’s par value — the benchmark Strategy has tied to resuming bitcoin purchases — bottomed near $70 in June. It closed Friday at $95.18, up 35% from that low, and climbing steadily back toward its $100 par value.

Strategy has indicated it wants STRC back at par before bitcoin buying resumes. Reaching $100 probably won’t flip the switch immediately — the company will likely want to see price stability well above that threshold before committing new capital to Bitcoin again. Granted, that means another disclosed sale next Monday wouldn’t necessarily contradict this thesis. But the trajectory itself — a 35% recovery in roughly two months — is the strongest signal yet that Strategy’s selling pressure has a defined off-ramp, not an open-ended mandate.

Key Takeaway

Strategy’s bitcoin sales aren’t random — they’re funding a specific obligation (STRC dividends) with a specific resolution condition (STRC returning to par value). That condition is 35% closer to being met than it was in June. Investors watching Strategy for signs the selling has run its course should treat the preferred stock’s climb toward $100 — not any single week’s transaction — as the number that actually matters.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Photo of Rich Duprey
About the Author Rich Duprey →

After two decades of patrolling the dark corners of suburbia as a police officer, Rich Duprey hung up his badge and gun to begin writing full time about stocks and investing. For the past 20 years he’s been cruising the markets looking for companies to lock up as long-term holdings in a portfolio while writing extensively on the broad sectors of consumer goods, technology, and industrials. Because his experience isn’t from the typical financial analyst track, Rich is able to break down complex topics into understandable and useful action points for the average investor. His writings have appeared on The Motley Fool, InvestorPlace, Yahoo! Finance, and Money Morning. He has been featured in both U.S. and international publications, including MarketWatch, Financial Times, Forbes, Fast Company, and USA Today.

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