[Bitcoin Now] MicroStrategy Sells Bitcoin for Dividends After Vowing 'Never to Sell'

MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has sold some of its Bitcoin holdings for the first time in over three years. Investors are watching closely to see whether this move will add further downward pressure on the already declining Bitcoin price.

On June 1 (local time), MicroStrategy announced in an 8-K filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it sold 32 Bitcoins for approximately $2.5 million. The sales took place between May 26 and May 31, with the average selling price per Bitcoin at $77,135.

The funds secured through this sale will be used for dividend payments. At the end of last year, the company had secured $1.44 billion in cash for dividends. However, according to the latest disclosure, this amount has decreased to $900 million.

This marks the first time MicroStrategy has sold Bitcoin since 2022, after a period of more than three years. As a result, the company's stock price declined. On this day, the share price closed at $149.78, down 5.85% from the previous trading session. Michael Saylor, Chairman of MicroStrategy, and Phong Le, CEO, had previously mentioned last year that they could sell some Bitcoin to secure funds for preferred stock dividends. The market interpreted this as a potential increase in downward pressure on Bitcoin prices. The market backlash was particularly strong because Saylor had emphasized for years on social media that Bitcoin should never be sold.

However, Saylor stressed that MicroStrategy would not become a net seller. Instead, he revealed plans to continue accumulating Bitcoin over the long term. MicroStrategy currently holds approximately 843,706 Bitcoins, valued at over $60 billion based on the current market price.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) earlier last month, Saylor explained, "If you sell one Bitcoin and buy ten more, technically you've sold one, but economically you've acquired nine more," adding, "We are operating the company rationally to secure more Bitcoin and hold it for longer, which benefits all investors."

Saylor began transforming the company, then a software analytics firm, into a Bitcoin-holding corporation in August 2020. At that time, he used the company’s cash reserves to purchase Bitcoin. He later raised capital by issuing common stock through at-the-market offerings. MicroStrategy also financed Bitcoin acquisitions by issuing convertible bonds (CBs). In 2024, the company became one of the world’s largest issuers of CBs, raising over $6.2 billion in a single year to purchase Bitcoin.

The WSJ pointed out that the popularity of Saylor's Bitcoin acquisition strategy has somewhat waned. Individual investors, who once drove the boom, are now showing greater interest in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. Institutional investors are shifting toward the tokenization market, where traditional assets are converted into blockchain-based trading tokens.

Bloomberg News noted that while the scale of MicroStrategy's recent sale is minimal, it could still weigh on the market. Bitcoin continues to show weakness amid ongoing outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs), weakening upward momentum, and declining speculative demand. The analysis suggests that if MicroStrategy abandons its previous stance of "never selling," it could further strain already fragile market sentiment.

Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin has been on a downward trend since reaching $126,000 per Bitcoin in October of last year. In particular, the outbreak of the Iran war in February of this year pushed the price down to $60,000. After recovering from the decline, Bitcoin rose to the $71,000 level. However, compared to last year's peak, the price is still down by more than 40%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.