Strategy sells $216M in bitcoin as Fed uncertainty clouds outlook

Bitcoin's short-term resilience after Strategy's record $216 million sale faces its next test as Federal Reserve policy decisions loom.

Bitcoin traded near $61,900 on Monday after Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million last week, its largest-ever liquidation, as traders turned to the Federal Reserve's next policy move.

"Bitcoin could be on pins and needles tomorrow," Ray Salmond, analyst at Cointelegraph, said, noting the cryptocurrency showed a short-term uptrend despite the sale but faces uncertainty from central bank policy.

The sale, executed at an average price of roughly $60,000 per bitcoin, reduced Strategy's holdings to 843,775 BTC, according to a Monday SEC filing. The company said proceeds will fund preferred stock dividend payments and replenish its dollar reserve, which stood at $2.55 billion as of July 5. The sale dwarfs the 32 bitcoin the company sold about one month ago, which sent crypto prices plunging. Strategy's average purchase price across its total holdings stands at $75,476 per bitcoin.

The conflicting signals — bitcoin's resilience after the sale versus the looming Fed decision — create a highly uncertain near-term outlook. The July 14 CPI release represents the next major catalyst that could either extend the relief rally or cap any early-July advance.

Record Sale Tests Strategy's Capital Playbook

The $216 million sale marks a dramatic acceleration from the company's initial 32-bitcoin sale in late May, which triggered a 24% plunge in MSTR stock and an 18% drop in bitcoin. Strategy's preferred stock, STRC, now trades at $89, well below its $100 par value, pushing the effective dividend yield to 13.26%. The company's annual interest and dividend obligations total $1.76 billion, according to Investor's Business Daily.

Strategy's at-the-market equity program remained unused last week, and the full $1.25 billion capacity under its BTC Monetization Program is still available, the filing showed. MSTR shares fell 2% in pre-market trading before recovering to around $101, after rallying 22% last week from a 27-month low of $82.31 on June 26.

Macro Crosscurrents Weigh on Bitcoin's Recovery

Bitcoin touched $63,882 over the weekend before reversing, as softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data on Thursday gave liquidity-sensitive assets a lift. The cryptocurrency now sits roughly 50% below its all-time high of $126,000 reached nine months ago on Oct. 6, 2025.

The rotation of capital between AI and semiconductor stocks and crypto assets continues to pressure bitcoin. SK Hynix's upcoming Nasdaq listing, expected to raise capital at a $1.16 trillion valuation, and Anthropic's $19 billion data center deal with TeraWulf highlight the competing demand for investment dollars.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.