Saylor: "I Never Said the Company (Strategy) Wouldn't Sell its Bitcoin"

Michael Saylor (@saylor) has moved to draw a clear distinction between his personal investment philosophy and the corporate treasury policy of @MicroStrategy, after Strategy disclosed it had sold $BTC for the first time in four years.

"I said to you never sell your Bitcoin," Saylor stated. "I never said that the company wouldn't sell its Bitcoin."

A Small Sale, A Large Reaction

Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin between May 26 and May 31 for about $2.5 million at an average net price of $77,135 per coin. The sale, the company's first disclosed net Bitcoin disposal, was used to pay the dividend on its STRC perpetual preferred stock. Strategy still held more than 843,700 Bitcoin at the end of May, meaning the sale represented about 0.004% of its total holdings.

The move was not entirely unexpected. During its Q1 2026 earnings call, Saylor and CEO Phong Le outlined plans to sell Bitcoin opportunistically when advantageous, while maintaining the company's overall accumulation strategy. Saylor has explained that occasional sales would ultimately help Strategy buy more Bitcoin than it sells to cover STRC dividend obligations.

CEO: The Reaction Is Overblown

Strategy CEO Phong Le said the sale was a deliberate test meant to prove the company's operational flexibility and reassure investors that its processes work, pushing back against criticism in a CNBC interview.

Le cited three reasons for the sale: establishing that Strategy can sell when necessary, confirming that internal systems for executing Bitcoin disposals are fully operational, and creating opportunities to capture tax losses on Bitcoin acquired at a lower cost basis. He was clear that the sale was not driven by financial distress, stating: "We did not need to sell our Bitcoin to satisfy our dividends."

Le told CNBC the firm would continue to sell its Bitcoin if "it makes sense" for common stockholders, and questioned why the sale of 32 coins received so much attention. "Institutional shareholders that we talk to don't seem to be unnerved by it," he added.

Strategy has since resumed buying, acquiring 1,550 Bitcoin at an average price of $65,332 between June 1 and June 7, a move analysts characterized as an effort to restore market confidence.

Sources:
CoinDesk: Strategy Sold 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 Million, Filing Shows
CNBC: Strategy Shares Fall After Selling $2.5 Million in Bitcoin
Bitcoin Magazine: Strategy CEO Says Bitcoin Sale Was About Market Inoculation, Not a Retreat