Strategy sold $104.7 million in Bitcoin last week to fund dividends and a buyback of its own STRC preferred stock. The trade came at a loss against the company's cost basis and marks its longest pause on new Bitcoin purchases yet.
Strategy sold 1,638 Bitcoin for $104.7 million last week, using the proceeds to fund dividends and buy back its own preferred stock. The sale was intended to help finance STRC, the variable-rate perpetual preferred stock the company uses to raise capital for further Bitcoin purchases.
The company sold at an average price of $63,957 a coin, roughly $11,500 below its $75,419 cost basis, booking a loss on the trade. Strategy hasn't bought Bitcoin since June 22, its longest pause on record, cutting its stack to 842,138 coins from 843,775.
Of the amount raised, $52.4 million funded dividends on Strategy's preferred shares. Another $52.3 million went toward an $81 million buyback of STRC shares, the second such repurchase in two weeks under a $1 billion program. The rest padded cash reserves, which now stand at $4 billion, or what the company calls roughly 2.3 years of runway. Strategy also sold $291 million in MSTR shares alongside the Bitcoin sale.
Market pricing suggests the sale may raise concerns about STRC's ability to reach its $100 target price by year-end. A December 31 prediction market on that outcome shows a 43.5% probability.
The sale marks a shift from Michael Saylor's earlier position that Strategy would never part with its Bitcoin. That contrasts with Saylor's earlier stance: "Sell a kidney if you must. But keep the Bitcoin."
Bitcoin also weathered a rough week for the industry, including a Coldcard hardware-wallet exploit that drained more than $100 million, yet its price stayed flat over the same period.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, Decrypt
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