Strategy sells $467 million in MSTR shares, makes no bitcoin purchases as USD reserve hits $3 billion

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy sold approximately $466.7 million worth of MSTR shares last week, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The firm said it sold 4,818,781 MSTR shares between July 6 and July 12, buy did not buy or sell and bitcoin during the period. Proceeds from the MSTR sales were used to boost Strategy's USD reserve by $450 million to $3 billion as of July 12.

Strategy has therefore retained its bitcoin holdings at 843,775 BTC — worth around $53 billion — bought at an average price of $75,476 per bitcoin for a total cost of around $63.7 billion, including fees and expenses, according to the company's co-founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor.

Strategy's holdings are still equivalent to around 4% of bitcoin's 21 million supply cap, but carry around $10.7 billion of paper losses at current prices.

Bitcoin traded flat at around $63,000 on Monday immediately following the filing, per The Block's BTC price page. MSTR shares are currently down 2.6% in pre-market trading.

'Orange dots tell only part of the story'

Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor posted another Strategy bitcoin tracker chart to X on Sunday with the caption "Orange dots tell only part of the story." Saylor's regular Sunday posts have typically been used to telegraph an acquisition announcement in advance. Recent captions such as "A good time to add more dots" and "Looks better with more dots" preceded purchase disclosures.

However, the messages have become more cryptic in recent weeks as the firm's strategy has shifted: a June 28 post reading "We're gonna need more charts" was followed by a new capital framework rather than a buy, and his July 5 post preceded the sale of 3,588 BTC for $216 million — the largest sale in Strategy's history.

Following the sale, Gabe Selby, Head of Research at Payward subsidiary CF Benchmarks, said Strategy's near-term ability to meet its payment obligations is not in question. The firm's annual financing costs amount to about 3.4% of the value of its bitcoin holdings, while its cash reserves cover around 17.4 months of those costs, or 25.9 months including authorized reserve-building capacity. However, he warned that recurring sales could become a concern.

"What makes the latest sale relevant is the expanded capital structure created by STRC, with a limited sale supporting its liquidity," Selby said. "The concern begins when selling bitcoin stops being a choice and becomes a recurring requirement for maintaining the capital structure."

Under its new Digital Credit Capital Framework, Strategy restricted its USD reserve to preferred stock dividends and interest payments. The firm authorized a $1 billion repurchase program for its digital credit securities, initially prioritizing STRC. It also adopted a flexible monthly STRC dividend policy, noting the dividend will not automatically increase if STRC trades below its $100 par value.

Separately, Strategy approved a $1 billion common stock buyback and a BTC Monetization Program allowing up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin sales to fund its reserve, dividends, interest, and securities repurchases.

VanEck's Matthew Sigel noted that Strategy's recent 3,588 BTC sale did not count against its new BTC Monetization Program, meaning the firm may have more selling capacity than the $1.25 billion headline figure suggests.

'Communication challenge, nothing more'

Per Bitcoin Treasuries data, 197 public companies have adopted some form of bitcoin acquisition model. Tether-backed Twenty One, Metaplanet, MARA, and Adam Back and Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company make up the rest of the top 5, with 43,514 BTC, 43,000 BTC, 36,303 BTC, and 30,021 BTC, respectively.

However, the value of many of the digital asset treasury company cohort's shares is down significantly from their summer 2025 peaks as their market cap-to-net asset value ratios sharply contracted. MSTR itself is still down around 79%, for example, with an enterprise mNAV of 1.03, according to the firm.

Strategy's stock fell 6.5% overall last week, closing on Friday at $94.64, according to The Block's MSTR price page. Bitcoin gained 1.7% during the same period last week.

On Friday, Standard Chartered maintained its end-2026 bitcoin forecast of $100,000, arguing that Strategy's shift from a "never sell bitcoin" posture to using BTC as collateral for its preferred stock is a communication problem rather than a solvency one.

Meanwhile, analysts at Grayscale said the stronger financing position could help bitcoin find a more durable price bottom by reducing tail risks, or the chances of severe negative outcomes, related to Strategy.