Strategy breaks four-year Bitcoin buying streak with surprise sale

Strategy has ended a nearly four-year stretch of uninterrupted Bitcoin accumulation after selling 32 BTC for $2.5 million during the final week of May.

According to a Form 8-K filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 2, the company sold the Bitcoin at an average price of $77,135 per coin, reducing its holdings from 843,738 BTC to 843,706 BTC.

The filing stated that proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to fund distributions on Strategy’s preferred stock offerings.

While the amount sold represents a small fraction of the company’s holdings, the transaction is the first reported Bitcoin sale by Strategy since a tax-related trade in December 2022.

Company records show that the earlier transaction involved the sale of 704 BTC, followed by the repurchase of 810 BTC two days later. Since then, Strategy has built its reputation around continuously increasing its Bitcoin reserves through debt and equity financing.

Interest in the possibility of a sale had grown in recent days after blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that Strategy transferred 411.48 BTC, worth roughly $30.3 million, to Coinbase Prime on May 29. Lookonchain said the movement appeared to be the company’s first direct transfer of Bitcoin to an exchange in nearly two years.

Management has acknowledged Bitcoin sales may support financing needs

Recent comments from company executives had already opened the door to the possibility of future Bitcoin sales.

During Strategy’s first-quarter earnings call, executive chairman Michael Saylor said the company could sell Bitcoin if needed to help meet dividend obligations tied to preferred stock products. The remarks drew attention because Strategy has long promoted a strategy centered on holding Bitcoin for the long term.

Additional company disclosures linked potential Bitcoin sales to a broader effort to manage liabilities. Earlier filings showed Strategy had moved to repurchase nearly $1.5 billion in face value of its 0% convertible senior notes due in 2029 for approximately $1.38 billion in cash.

Those filings stated that funding for the repurchase could come from cash reserves, proceeds from at-the-market stock offerings, debt financing, or Bitcoin sales.

Speaking during an interview on May 25, Saylor said it was “not unlikely” that Strategy could sell some Bitcoin before the end of 2026. He argued that using multiple sources of capital, including cash, equity, credit, and Bitcoin, produced better results than relying on a single financing method.

Stock sales accompanied the latest Bitcoin transaction

Alongside the Bitcoin sale, Strategy also raised capital through its equity program.

The SEC filing disclosed that the company sold 801,994 shares of its Class A common stock, generating approximately $128.3 million in proceeds during the same reporting period. No preferred stock issuances were completed during the week.

Before the filing was released, market watchers had expected Strategy to announce neither Bitcoin purchases nor preferred stock raises. STRC Live had published estimates pointing to that outcome.

Over the weekend, however, some investors anticipated fresh buying activity after Saylor shared a Bitcoin acquisition chart on X alongside the message “Working Better.”

Instead, the latest filing confirmed a different result. Even so, Strategy chief executive Phong Le said last week that any future sales would not change the company’s long-term direction.