Strategy shifts strategy: World's largest corporate Bitcoin holder sells billions in cryptocurrency

Since 2020, publicly traded technology company Strategy has spent billions buying Bitcoin. After years of its leadership saying it would never sell, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin is now selling some of its stockpile.

Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation has become a model for other companies looking to add the cryptocurrency to their balance sheets.

However, Strategy began shifting away from its strict buy-and-hold approach as market conditions worsened in 2026. Last week, Strategy sold 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million, according to its latest disclosure, continuing a series of sales that began earlier this year.

In May, CEO Phong Le said Strategy could sell Bitcoin when doing so would benefit shareholders.

“At the point where selling Bitcoin versus selling equity to pay a dividend is better for our bitcoin-per-share, we will do it,” Le told CNBC.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said Strategy could sell Bitcoin to fund dividends, while stressing that its goal was to “never be a net seller” of Bitcoin, rather than never sell at all.

“I'm very famous for saying ‘never sell your Bitcoin.’ That's why the internet went crazy when we said we might sell it,” Saylor said in an interview on the David Lin podcast. “But if I was being more precise: never be a net seller of Bitcoin. It just wouldn't have been so viral.”

The shift was also driven by STRC’s falling share price. In May, Strategy’s preferred stock fell below its $100 per share, constraining the company’s ability to issue new STRC shares and cutting off a source of capital it had used to fund Bitcoin purchases. Strategy responded by introducing a broader capital management framework that allowed it to sell Bitcoin, build its cash reserves, and repurchase preferred shares.

The company has since sold Bitcoin and used some of the proceeds to buy back STRC shares at a discount as it seeks to push the stock back toward $100.

Strategy Bitcoin sales so far

Since May, Strategy has sold 6,948 BTC for roughly $432.5 million, including selling 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million that month, its first Bitcoin sale since 2022. The company has used the proceeds to fund payments on its preferred stock.

In late June, Strategy introduced its Digital Credit Capital Framework, formalizing when the company could sell Bitcoin.

The policy allows Strategy to sell up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin to replenish its dollar reserve, which reached $4 billion as of August 2, and fund dividends, interest payments, and share buybacks. The company’s initial sale of 32 BTC was conducted prior to the framework and is excluded from the $1.25 billion sale cushion the company has given itself.

Since June, Strategy put the program to broader use, selling 3,588 BTC for roughly $216 million earlier this month. The company said the proceeds were used to fund preferred-stock dividends and replenish its cash reserve.

On August 3, Strategy reported the sale of another 1,638 BTC for $105 million in Bitcoin, with $52.4 million of the sale proceeds funding dividends on its preferred stock and $52.3 million going toward repurchasing STRC shares.

With its most recent sale, executed last week but reported August 10, Strategy parted with another 1,690 BTC for close to $109 million, with the proceeds going toward STRC buybacks.

The latest sale brought the company’s total Bitcoin sold to 6,948 BTC, around $432.5 million so far this year.

Despite the sales, Bitcoin remains Strategy's primary treasury asset, with the company currently holding more than 840,000 BTC, around $53.6 billion, according to its latest SEC filing on Monday.

Strategy's policy change gives it a choice between selling Bitcoin and issuing additional shares when it needs cash. While the firm has long held a “never sell” ideology when it comes to Bitcoin, recent events show Strategy no longer treats those holdings as off limits.