Bitcoin prices swung sharply after Strategy, the largest publicly traded corporate holder of the cryptocurrency, disclosed its first bitcoin sale in over two years. BTC dropped 4% to as low as $69,690 before recovering to $70,120 at press time, according to CryptoSlate. The news broke as the flagship crypto had been trading near the $70,000 mark.
The sale, disclosed in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC, involved 32 bitcoins sold between May 26 and May 31 at an average price of $77,135 each, net of fees. Proceeds of roughly $2.5 million are expected to fund distributions on preferred stock. This transaction contrasts sharply with the firm's December 2022 sale of 704 BTC, which was a tax-loss harvesting maneuver followed by a prompt repurchase. Here, the move signals a shift toward using a slice of its vast bitcoin treasury to service preferred equity obligations rather than manage tax exposure.
The sale's small size belies its psychological weight. NewsBTC noted the real risk lies in what happens if Strategy must sell more bitcoin to sustain its dividend structure—a scenario that could pressure prices if the firm, which holds over 200,000 BTC, becomes a regular seller. The company's willingness to tap its core asset for equity costs introduces a new layer of vulnerability to its balance sheet strategy.