Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) has sold 5,258 BTC in 2026, the largest annual disposal since the company began accumulating Bitcoin in August 2020. The sales, totaling approximately $323 million, fund a $1.76 billion annual obligation stack comprising preferred stock dividends and convertible debt ...
"We have never had a 'never sell' policy." — Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, Strategy Inc.
Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) has sold 5,258 BTC in 2026, the largest annual disposal since the company began accumulating Bitcoin in August 2020. The sales, totaling approximately $323 million, fund a $1.76 billion annual obligation stack comprising preferred stock dividends and convertible debt interest. MSTR shares trade at $95.14, down 41% year-to-date, while the company's 842,138 BTC treasury sits approximately $10.8 billion underwater against its $63.51 billion aggregate cost basis.
The shift from perpetual accumulation to selective liquidation marks a structural change in the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury on Earth. Strategy now operates what it calls a "BTC Monetization Program," launched June 29, that explicitly authorizes Bitcoin sales to service capital obligations. The company has simultaneously built a $4 billion USD Reserve — a cash buffer covering roughly 27 months of fixed obligations — funded by a combination of BTC sales, common stock issuance, and preferred equity capital raises totaling $7.53 billion through preferred securities in 2026 alone.
Strategy's Bitcoin disposals in 2026 followed a clear escalation pattern:
| Period | BTC Sold | Proceeds | Avg. Price/BTC | |--------|----------|----------|----------------| | May 26–31 | 32 | $2.5M | ~$78,125 | | June 29–30 | 1,363 | $80.8M | ~$59,281 | | July 1–5 | 2,225 | $135.2M | ~$60,764 | | July 27–Aug 2 | 1,638 | $104.7M | $63,957 | | 2026 Total | 5,258 | ~$323.2M | ~$61,475 |
The initial 32 BTC sale in late May was described internally as a test transaction tied to preferred stock dividend obligations. Within five weeks, the program scaled by a factor of 50x. Strategy paused acquisitions for six consecutive weeks through late July — the longest buying hiatus since 2024 — before resuming sales at the $104 million level.
The average sale price of approximately $61,475 per BTC across all 2026 disposals sits well below the company's aggregate cost basis of $75,419 per coin, meaning Strategy is realizing losses on each sale relative to its blended acquisition cost.
Strategy's capital stack has expanded into five preferred equity instruments and a $6.7 billion convertible note portfolio. As of June 30, 2026, the preferred stock outstanding by notional value breaks down as follows:
| Instrument | Ticker | Notional Value | Dividend Rate | |------------|--------|---------------|---------------| | Stretch | STRC | $10.49B | 11.50% | | Strike | STRK | $1.40B | 8.00% | | Stride | STRD | $1.40B | 10.00% | | Strife | STRF | $1.28B | 10.00% | | Euro tranche | STRE | €775M | 10.00% | | Convertible Notes | — | $6.7B | 0–0.625% |
The combined annual dividend and interest obligation stands at approximately $1.76 billion. This figure is critical context: Strategy's legacy software business generated $122.37 million in Q2 2026 revenue, implying the software operation covers roughly 7% of annual fixed capital costs. The remaining 93% must come from capital markets activity or Bitcoin sales.
Strategy reduced convertible note exposure by $1.5 billion via a repurchase at an 8% discount earlier in 2026, bringing the total from $8.2 billion to $6.7 billion. The shift from maturity-based convertibles to perpetual preferred stock reduces refinancing risk but creates a permanent dividend burden that compounds if the instruments trade below par.
STRC, Strategy's largest preferred instrument at $10.49 billion notional, closed at $89.46 on July 31, approximately 10-11% below its $100 par value. The instrument carries a ratchet mechanism: the dividend rate increases by 50 basis points each time STRC trades below $95, and increases are irreversible. The rate has climbed from the initial 10% at July 2025 launch to the current 12%, its all-time high.
At 12% on $10.49 billion notional, STRC alone generates approximately $1.26 billion in annual dividend obligations. Strategy responded by launching a repurchase program, buying back 912,143 STRC shares for $81.2 million in the most recent week and 288,930 shares for $25 million the week prior. Total program spending reached approximately $106.2 million since the buyback's July launch, with $893.8 million in remaining authorization.
The buyback operates at an effective discount: purchasing $100-par shares at $89 retires 12% perpetual obligations at roughly 89 cents on the dollar. But the math only works if Strategy has sufficient liquidity to sustain it. The $4 billion USD Reserve provides the buffer, though it drains at a rate of approximately $147 million per month against current obligations.
Strategy reported a Q2 2026 net loss of $8.6 billion and operating loss of $8.3 billion. The loss was driven almost entirely by a non-cash fair value mark-to-market loss of $8.3 billion on its Bitcoin holdings as BTC fell to approximately $58,700 at quarter-end. Diluted EPS landed at negative $24.45, against an analyst consensus forecast of positive $0.79.
Revenue of $122.37 million missed the $122.93 million Wall Street consensus. The software business, once the company's core, now constitutes a rounding error against the Bitcoin treasury's mark-to-market swings.
The company added 83,901 BTC net during Q2, raising total capital of $8.4 billion in the quarter alone, including $5.5 billion through STRC issuance. Year-to-date capital raised reached $17 billion across equity and preferred instruments.
Despite the headline loss, MSTR shares rose 4.4% following the earnings report, according to Yahoo Finance, reflecting the market's treatment of Strategy as a leveraged Bitcoin vehicle rather than a traditional operating company.
Strategy's newly established USD Reserve reached $4 billion as of August 2, up from $2.55 billion at the end of June. The reserve was funded through three channels:
The $4 billion buffer provides approximately 27 months of coverage for preferred stock dividends and debt interest at the current $1.76 billion annual run rate. According to an Invezz report, the added liquidity from the latest BTC sale extended the reserve runway by 57 days.
This represents a fundamental evolution of the Strategy model. From 2020 to 2025, the thesis was simple: issue debt and equity, buy Bitcoin, hold indefinitely. The 2026 iteration adds a liability management layer that requires active portfolio management — selling BTC at realized losses if necessary to service obligations and maintain market confidence in the preferred instruments.
Strategy holds 842,138 BTC as of August 2, 2026, representing approximately 4% of Bitcoin's 21 million maximum supply. The aggregate cost basis stands at $63.51 billion, acquired at an average price of $75,419 per BTC.
With Bitcoin trading near $63,000 as of August 3, the portfolio carries an unrealized loss of approximately $10.8 billion. The 200-week simple moving average for Bitcoin sits at $63,770; according to CoinDesk, MSTR's stock price is now tracking this moving average.
The company's market capitalization of approximately $34.67 billion trades at a 35% discount to the net asset value of its Bitcoin holdings alone — a reversal from the persistent premium that characterized 2024 and early 2025, when MSTR frequently traded at 1.5x-2x its Bitcoin NAV.
Saylor addressed the strategic shift during a May interview: "I think it's not unlikely that we'll sell some Bitcoin between now and the end of the year." He subsequently reframed the company's long-standing accumulation narrative, stating the goal is to maximize "Bitcoin per share" over a seven-year horizon through 2033, making 2026 sales a capital allocation decision rather than a reversal of conviction.
Strategy's transition from perpetual Bitcoin accumulator to active treasury manager reflects the mechanical reality of its capital structure. A company with $1.76 billion in annual fixed obligations and $489 million in annualized software revenue cannot treat its $53 billion Bitcoin treasury as untouchable. The BTC Monetization Program, the $4 billion USD Reserve, and the STRC buyback program are not signals of weakening conviction — they are the engineering required to sustain a leveraged Bitcoin position of this scale.
The critical variable remains Bitcoin's price. At $63,000, Strategy sells BTC at realized losses to service obligations on instruments issued when BTC traded materially higher. A sustained move above $75,000 would restore the treasury to profitability and likely push STRC back above par, halting the dividend ratchet. A sustained move below $55,000 would compress the 27-month runway, accelerate the ratchet mechanism, and force larger BTC disposals at deeper losses.
Strategy has not abandoned the Bitcoin thesis. It has discovered that holding 4% of a volatile asset's total supply, financed with $22 billion in obligations carrying fixed coupon rates, requires selling some of that asset. The "never sell" era ended not with a policy reversal but with an 8-K filing and 32 BTC.