MicroStrategy CEO Phong Le this week spelled out exactly when the firm would sell some of its 818,334 Bitcoin — a sharp break from founder Michael Saylor's longstanding 'never sell' doctrine. Speaking publicly for the first time since the shift was signaled on the Q1 2026 earnings call, Le named two specific conditions that would trigger a sale, and argued the company's roughly 10-15% leverage is manageable.
When Strategy would sell
Le said the company would sell Bitcoin either to meet dividend payments on its Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC) — but only if the sale is accretive to shareholders, defined as when book value exceeds the stock price or when mNAV dips below 1.22 — or for tax management, like capturing deferred gains or tax losses. The 11.5% dividend on the STRC shares carries an annual obligation of about $1.5 billion.
That's a big number, but Le noted it's dwarfed by Bitcoin's daily trading volume, which he pegged at roughly $60 billion. He argued the dividend payments are 'small relative to the overall market.'
Why Le says it won't move the market
Le pushed back on the idea that MicroStrategy's trading activity could sway Bitcoin's price. He pointed out that Bitcoin actually rose during weeks when the company made no purchases. The firm's leverage sits around 10-15% with an amplification of about 35%, which Le described as manageable.
The CEO also stated that the company does not believe its own buying or selling significantly moves the market. That claim will be tested if the firm ever triggers a sale under the newly disclosed conditions.
The market's response
MSTR shares dropped 4% after Saylor's earlier suggestion that the company might sell Bitcoin to cover dividends. The stock has been sensitive to any hint of a change in the Bitcoin accumulation strategy that made MicroStrategy a proxy for the asset. Le's detailed conditions appear aimed at reassuring investors that any sale would be tightly constrained and opportunistic, not a wholesale liquidation.
MicroStrategy's average purchase price is about $75,537 per Bitcoin, meaning the vast majority of its holdings are underwater at current prices — a fact that makes tax-loss harvesting a plausible near-term use case. The company has not yet announced any specific sale. The next concrete signal will likely come during the Q2 earnings call or if the mNAV threshold is breached.
