MARKET ANALYSIS | World’s Largest Corporate Holder of Bitcoin to Sell Some Holdings to Fund Dividend Obligations

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate and institutional holder of Bitcoin, has signaled it may sell part of its cryptocurrency holdings to meet mounting dividend obligations tied to its preferred stock offerings, marking a notable shift from the company’s long-held ‘never sell’ stance on bitcoin.

The company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, said during its first-quarter earnings call that selling a small portion of its bitcoin holdings could help fund nearly $1.5 billion in annual dividend payments linked to its growing stack of preferred securities.

“We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it,” said Michael Saylor, the Executive Chairman at Strategy.

The comments rattled investors sending Strategy shares down about 4% in after-hours trading while bitcoin briefly slipped below $81,000 before recovering.

Strategy remains the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin owning more than 818,000 tokens worth roughly $64 billion at current market prices. The company has spent years aggressively accumulating bitcoin through

• debt raises,
• equity sales, and
• preferred stock offerings.

Chief Executive, Phong Le, said the company’s goal remained to increase bitcoin holdings per share over tim, even if it occasionally sold part of its reserves to manage liabilities and maintain financial flexibility.

Analysts said the remarks reflected growing pressure on Strategy’s increasingly complex capital structure, which now includes billions of dollars in convertible debt and high-yield preferred securities carrying sizable dividend commitments.

Strategy reported a Q1 2026 net loss of $12.54 billion, largely driven by unrealized markdowns on its bitcoin holdings during the recent crypto market downturn.

Saylor, one of bitcoin’s most vocal supporters, had previously insisted the company would never sell its holdings, often describing bitcoin as a superior long-term store of value. The latest comments suggest Strategy may now treat portions of its bitcoin treasury as a liquidity tool rather than an untouchable reserve.

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