Key Takeaways:
Strategy sold 1,638 bitcoin for $104.7 million last week, cutting its treasury to 842,138 BTC as the firm prioritizes preferred-stock support over accumulation.
"Strategy increased its USD Reserve by $250M and repurchased $81M of STRC," Michael Saylor, executive chairman at Strategy, said in a post on X. "This increased USD Duration by 57 days to 2.3 years and tightened STRC's BTC Credit by 5 bps."
The company sold the bitcoin between July 27 and Aug. 2 at an average price of $63,957 per coin, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC on Monday. Proceeds funded $52.4 million in preferred-stock dividend payments and $52.3 million in STRC repurchases. Separately, Strategy raised $290.6 million by selling 3,011,361 MSTR shares, adding $250 million to its USD reserve — now at $4 billion — and repurchasing $28.9 million of STRC stock.
Strategy's 842,138 BTC holdings — worth roughly $52.6 billion at current prices — carry about $10.9 billion in paper losses against a $63.5 billion cost basis. Bitcoin traded near $62,400 after the filing, while MSTR shares fell 1.7 percent in pre-market trading, extending a 41 percent year-to-date decline.
The sale follows Strategy's adoption of its Digital Credit Capital Framework in late June, which restricted the USD reserve to preferred-stock dividends and interest payments while authorizing a $1 billion repurchase program for digital credit securities. The firm maintained STRC's variable annualized dividend rate at 12 percent on Friday, saying it will not recommend a reduction until the shares trade consistently near their $100 stated value. STRC traded at $89.40 in Monday's pre-market session, 10.6 percent below par.
On-chain analysts at Lookonchain flagged a wallet linked to Strategy that moved 299.8 BTC, worth around $18.9 million, on Sunday — mirroring a pattern ahead of the firm's previous bitcoin sale announcement. Saylor posted a bitcoin tracker chart on X with the caption "Bitcoin Drive engaged," though his Sunday posts have become more cryptic as the firm's capital allocation has shifted toward cash building.
Strategy reported an $8.2 billion net loss for the second quarter, driven almost entirely by unrealized losses on its bitcoin holdings, which grew 11 percent during the period before the firm began selling. Analysts at Benchmark and TD Cowen maintained Buy ratings after the Q2 call, with Benchmark cutting its price target to $435 from $570 and TD Cowen retaining a $260 target. Both said restoring STRC to par is now management's primary objective.
The shift marks a departure from Saylor's long-standing buy-and-hold approach. With the USD reserve now covering roughly 2.3 years of dividend and interest obligations, the firm has said it will hold off on additional bitcoin purchases while STRC trades below its stated value — a stance that could keep MSTR under pressure until preferred shares recover.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
