Investing.com – Strategy Inc. sold about $2.5 million of Bitcoin, marking its first disposal of the cryptocurrency since 2022, sending shares down nearly 5% in premarket trading on Monday.
The company remains the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin with about $61 billion still on its balance sheet, according to the regulatory filing.
Co-founder Michael Saylor signaled the possibility of Bitcoin sales during the company’s quarterly earnings call last month, a notable shift after years of assuring shareholders that the firm would not sell its holdings.
“As we suggested last week, Microstrategy did sell a “test” amount into the market of 32 BTC ($2.5 million), very small by comparison with their holding but nonetheless a bad, if not inevitible market signal. However without a rally in the coming weeks there is no doubt more will follow,” said Stephen Wundke, Strategy and Revenue Director at Algoz Technologies.
The firm said future sales of Bitcoin are part of the effort to accumulate the token on its balance sheet more strategically. The sales could bring tax benefits and make it easier for the firm to acquire Bitcoin in the prolonged bear market in digital assets.
The business model of digital asset treasuries, which Saylor pioneered in 2020, has been under strain since cryptocurrency prices fell last October.
