Strategy, the world's largest bitcoin-holding corporations, broke its "permanent bitcoin holding" principle and sold 3,588 bitcoins in its biggest sale ever, but bitcoin prices fell briefly before rebounding. On May, it sold 32 coins, and bitcoin tumbled from the $70,000 range to the low $60,000s.
According to the virtual asset industry on Jul. 7, Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoins in the $60,000 range, reducing its total holdings to 843,775. Michael Saylor, Strategy chief executive officer (CEO), said on X (formerly Twitter) that "we sold bitcoin to secure funds to pay preferred stock dividends." Strategy secured $222.5 million (about 340.5 billion won) from this bitcoin sale.
From May 26 to 31, Strategy sold 32 bitcoins at around $70,000 each, securing $2.5 million (about 3.8 billion won). That too was to raise funds for preferred stock dividends, and bitcoin prices plunged at the time. Although this bitcoin sale is more than 100 times larger than then, bitcoin fell from about $63,000 to about $61,000 right after news of Strategy's sale, then rose again to the $64,000 range.
Strategy's recent bitcoin sale shows a major shift in its financial management approach. Strategy had built a reputation as corporations that aggressively accumulated bitcoin without selling. Recently, however, it has been selectively selling bitcoin to raise funds depending on the situation.
Global virtual asset manager Grayscale said, "Strategy's bitcoin sale reduced fundraising risk and also had a positive effect on stabilizing bitcoin prices. With this sale, Strategy increased its dollar holdings and secured cash resources to pay dividends for about 17 months." It added, "The rebound in Strategy's preferred stock price also suggests that investors view the decision positively."
Gautam Chhugani, a researcher at U.S. investment bank Bernstein, said, "As major U.S. bitcoin miners are selling bitcoin to pivot to artificial intelligence (AI) data center businesses, Strategy's continued buying helped keep the bitcoin market in balance."