Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for roughly $216 million in the week ended July 5, 2026 — its largest bitcoin sale ever — at an average price near $60,000 per coin, against a book cost of $75,476. That last pair of numbers is the story the headline misses: the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin (BTC) crystallised a roughly 20% loss on the coins it sold in order to pay dividends on its preferred stock, converting what its capital structure treats as permanent capital into a recurring dollar liability — the same treasury-model stress we flagged when Metaplanet’s book went $1.4 billion underwater last week.
The sale came in two tranches — 1,363 BTC for $80.8 million on June 29–30 and 2,225 BTC for $135.2 million across July 1–5 — and dramatically accelerates a shift that began with a symbolic 32-BTC disposal in early June, per CoinDesk. It is the company’s first material selling since 2022, ending the “never sell” doctrine that defined the corporate-treasury playbook.
“Strategy has sold 3,588 $BTC for $216 million to fund dividends on our Digital Credit securities. As of 7/5/2026, we hodl ₿843,775 in our BTC Reserves and $2.55 billion in our USD Reserves,” Executive Chairman Michael Saylor wrote on X, confirming the Form 8-K disclosure. (Bitcoin.com News)
The maths of the Digital Credit stack
Proceeds fund quarterly dividends on the STRF, STRE, STRK and STRD preferred series and the monthly dividend on STRC, with the balance replenishing the US dollar reserve drawn for those payments, per the company’s disclosure reported by ZeroHedge. Strategy retains 843,775 BTC acquired for roughly $63.69 billion — an average cost of $75,476 — leaving the whole book underwater with spot near $62,000. The company also reported $1.25 billion of unused capacity under its BTC Monetization Program and executed no at-the-market equity sales during the week — the detail that matters most, because it means equity issuance, the historical funding leg, was either unavailable or unattractive at current prices.
Market reaction and the reflexivity problem
MSTR shares slipped about 2% in pre-market trading on the disclosure and bitcoin eased from $62,900 to $61,900, per CoinDesk’s capital-allocation analysis. The mechanism cuts deeper than one session: treasury companies were structural bid when their equity traded at a premium to net asset value; with the premium gone, the same structures become structural supply whenever preferred coupons come due. Every dividend date now carries a known sell-flow, and derivative desks can time it — a dynamic that compounds the pressure on a market already digesting accelerating Mt. Gox repayment movements.
The sector pattern: treasuries underwater, models diverging
Strategy is not alone in the squeeze. Metaplanet — the largest Asian corporate holder — sits on 43,000 BTC with its book roughly $1.4 billion underwater, as covered in our Metaplanet analysis, but has so far chosen dilution over disposal. Strategy’s pivot to selling marks the first time the two flagship treasury models have split: one funds obligations with equity, the other now with coins. Which path shareholders punish less will define whether the corporate-treasury bid returns in the next cycle — and the answer is arriving just as the ETF complex flips back to absorbing supply, per our report on IBIT’s $209 million inflow turn.
Watch next: the July STRC monthly dividend date (the next scheduled sell-flow), whether Strategy taps the remaining $1.25 billion monetisation capacity into strength or weakness, and Q2 13-F filings later in July showing whether institutions rotated from MSTR into spot ETFs — the trade the flow data increasingly implies.
This article is informational analysis only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and can lose substantial value rapidly. Past performance and historical patterns do not guarantee future results. Do your own research and consult a regulated financial adviser before making any investment decision.
Karthik Subramanian
Karthik Subramanian is a founder, writer, and technology consultant with nine years in the crypto ecosystem. He covers token economics, L1/L2 infrastructure, DeFi protocols, wallets/custody, and the bridge between crypto and forex—broker technology, liquidity, and macro drivers. Karthik’s writing focuses on clear, practical frameworks that help professionals evaluate new products and on-chain innovation alongside FX market realities.
