Strategy CEO Phong Le said on May 5 that the company will sell Bitcoin when advantageous, and Michael Saylor added they would 'probably sell some Bitcoin to fund a dividend.' The firm, which held 818,334 BTC as of May 3 — worth $64.14 billion — has set a quantitative framework to decide when selling beats issuing equity.
The dividend math
Under the framework, selling Bitcoin to pay dividends is more accretive than issuing common equity when the stock trades below roughly 1.22 times net asset value per share adjusted for market capitalization (mNAV). Saylor argued that if Bitcoin appreciates by just 2.3% annually, the reserve can fund dividends 'forever.' With zero appreciation, he said, it could last 43 years. The claim assumes no change in the cost to run the business, but it's the clearest signal yet that Strategy sees its Bitcoin hoard as an active financial tool, not a passive vault.
Sequans' shrinking pile
Sequans isn't sitting on its stash either. The chipmaker reported Q1 revenue down 24.8% year-over-year to $6.1 million, with a $50.5 million operating loss. It posted $11.7 million in realized net losses from Bitcoin sales. As of March 31, Sequans held 1,514 BTC, with 1,217 of those collateralized against $66.2 million of convertible debt. By April 30, holdings had fallen to 1,114 BTC, with only 817 BTC backing a $35.9 million debt tranche due June 1. That's a quick drawdown, and the June deadline is closing in.
MARA's debt shuffle
MARA took a different route. In March, the miner sold 15,133 BTC for roughly $1.1 billion. It used the proceeds to repurchase convertible notes, cutting outstanding convertible indebtedness by about 30% and capturing roughly $88.1 million in value. No dividend plans — just debt reduction. For miners, paying down expensive convertibles can be more urgent than returning cash to shareholders when markets are choppy.
Citi's price view
Citi released a 12-month Bitcoin price target this week: base case $112,000, bull case $165,000, and adverse case $58,000. Standard Chartered has flagged that adverse scenario could slide further to $50,000. Neither bank's outlook changes the immediate math for companies like Strategy, but it frames the range of outcomes they're betting on.
For Sequans, the June 1 debt deadline is the next pressure point. For Strategy, the dividend question — how much, when, and at what Bitcoin price — is still open.
