Strategy Loses $216M from Bitcoin Sales Amid Dividend Concerns

Strategy has sold over 3,500 bitcoins for $216 million, raising cash for dividend payments despite claims it wouldn't need to. Bitcoin prices surged as miners capitalized on the sell-off.

Strategy MSTR sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million to fund second-quarter dividends on four preferred securities and the full June payment on a fifth, according to a Form 8-K filed July 6 . It is the largest bitcoin disposal in the company's history and its most direct acknowledgment yet that dividend obligations, not just accumulation, now shape its treasury strategy.

The sale occurred at a price below Strategy's roughly $75,476 average bitcoin cost basis, and MSTR opened about 4.5% lower on Nasdaq following the disclosure. Grayscale's head of research estimates Strategy's annual preferred-dividend obligation at around $1.5 billion, a load the company's software business does not generate enough cash to cover on its own.

The move marks a notable inversion of the original Strategy thesis, that bitcoin appreciation would perpetually fund the capital structure. At current bitcoin prices near $60,000, the capital structure is instead consuming bitcoin to meet its obligations. Strategy has also authorized a BTC Monetization Program permitting further sales of up to $1.25 billion to shore up its dollar reserves, suggesting this sale may not be the last.