Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold 32 bitcoin this week — its first sale since December 2022, breaking a 3.5-year streak of only accumulating the asset. The sale netted $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 per BTC, according to an SEC 8-K filing. Proceeds are earmarked for a shareholder dividend, a move CEO Michael Saylor telegraphed in early May when he said the firm might sell some bitcoin to 'inoculate the market' against surprise liquidation pressure.
First sale since the 2022 tax-loss harvest
Strategy's last bitcoin sale came in December 2022, when it offloaded 704 BTC for tax-loss harvesting purposes. That sale was followed by a buyback later. This time the motivation is different: cash for distributions. The 32 BTC represents roughly 0.004% of Strategy's total holdings — a drop in the bucket, but symbolically significant for a company that built its identity around being the ultimate bitcoin bull.
Why sell now?
Saylor hinted at the dividend plan weeks ago, framing it as a way to keep the market calm. The logic: drip a small amount of bitcoin out as cash payouts so investors don't panic about a larger, unannounced dump. At today's bitcoin price around $71,400, Strategy is sitting on an unrealized loss — its average cost basis is $75,699 per BTC across 843,706 coins. Selling into a loss to fund a dividend is an unusual move, but the amount is negligible relative to the firm's $63.87 billion total cost.
The numbers after the sale
Post-sale, Strategy still holds 843,706 BTC with a total acquisition cost of $63.87 billion. The average entry price is $75,699. With bitcoin currently $71,400, the paper loss on the entire position is roughly $3.6 billion. That hasn't stopped the company from buying more: two weeks before this sale, Strategy announced a $2.01 billion bitcoin acquisition. The dividend sale looks less like a change in strategy and more like a tactical liquidity event.
Bitmine keeps stacking ETH
Meanwhile, Bitmine — the largest Ethereum treasury company — added 26,497 ETH in the past week. The firm now holds 5.42 million ether, which amounts to 4.49% of all circulating supply. Bitmine has stated it aims to reach 5% of the total supply. The accumulation continues even as the broader market digests Strategy's first sale in years.
Strategy's next SEC filing will show whether the 32 BTC sale actually happens in one go or if more follow. The company had been buying every quarter without fail. Now there's a crack in that record, even if it's a tiny one.
