Samson Mow argued this week that Bitcoin treasury companies should retain the flexibility to sell BTC when it makes sense for shareholders, pushing back against the hardline HODL ethos that dominates much of the crypto community. Speaking on the topic of public-market Bitcoin vehicles, Mow said that 'never selling limits optionality' and that publicly traded firms need every tool available to manage market pressure. At press time, Bitcoin traded at $81,469.
Why Mow wants selling on the table
Mow, a longtime Bitcoin advocate and former CSO of Blockstream, made the case that companies vowing to only hold Bitcoin forever hand a roadmap to adversaries, including short sellers and activist investors. He argued that a rigid 'never sell' policy can harm shareholders when a firm's stock trades at a discount to its net asset value. Public markets, he said, require all available tools — and selling Bitcoin is one of them.
The BSTR blueprint
Mow pointed to the Bitcoin Strategy Treasury (BSTR) structure designed by Adam Back as an example where selling Bitcoin to buy back stock is explicitly on the table when shares trade below the market-adjusted net asset value (mNAV). That approach, Mow said, lets a company return value to shareholders without abandoning its long-term Bitcoin accumulation goals. He also noted that the Bitcoin bonds he designed included scheduled BTC sales after a five-year lockup to return capital to bondholders — a structure that was always part of the original plan.
Gross sales vs. net accumulation
A key distinction Mow drew was between gross sales and net accumulation. He argued that a company can sell Bitcoin in one transaction and still end up holding more BTC over time, as long as the overall trajectory is toward accumulation. He cited Michael Saylor's comment about Strategy's BTC Breakeven ARR of 2.05%, implying that Bitcoin could cover dividends — meaning selling Bitcoin to pay dividends is a legitimate use of the asset.
What this means for Strategy and other firms
Strategy, the company led by Michael Saylor, remains the most closely watched public-market Bitcoin vehicle. Mow's comments suggest that even the most vocal Bitcoin bulls see a role for tactical selling in a corporate treasury context. For individual HODLers, Mow clarified that the message isn't literally 'never sell and take it to the grave' but rather to avoid selling unnecessarily. The distinction matters as more companies consider adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets and face pressure from public-market dynamics. The question now is whether any major Bitcoin treasury firm will formally adopt a flexible selling policy — and how the community will react if they do.
