Strategy May Sell Bitcoin to Fund Dividends; Saylor Breaks Stance

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In a drawing-room tone that belongs to a provincial town rather than a Wall Street fortress, Michael Saylor suggests that Strategy, the planet’s largest corporate guardian of bitcoin, may part with a portion of its treasure to satisfy preferred stock dividend obligations. It is a notable wobble in the firm’s founding vow to hold and never liquidate the glittering reserves.

Key Takeaways:

  • Strategy may sell BTC to pay dividends in May 2026, breaking its long-standing “never sell” pledge.
  • The company holds 818,334 BTC, bought at an average cost of $75,537 per coin, with implied market value around $64.14 billion.
  • After-hours trading punished the stock, down more than 4%, as Bitcoin dipped briefly below $81,000 following the Q1 earnings call.

What Saylor Said

During Strategy’s Q1 2026 earnings call, Saylor remarked with the gravity of a magistrate at a country fair: they would probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend, a move meant to inoculate the market and signal that the company can meet its obligations with a calm face, rather than with a bolt of panic.

The choice of inoculation was deliberate, he explained, a signaling gesture rather than a mere fiscal need, aimed at removing uncertainty before it festers into a liability in the manner of a stubborn cough at tea-time.

“Buy bitcoin with credit, let it rise, and then sell to pay the dividend,” he added, describing the mechanism as consistent with the firm’s core model rather than a contradiction of it.

CEO Phong Le added that selling bitcoin would only occur if it were accretive to bitcoin per share, meaning any sale would increase exposure for common equity holders while preserving the integrity of the investment thesis. “Our ability to sell bitcoin either to buy dollars or to buy debt if it is accretive to bitcoin per share is something we would consider going forward,” Le said.

Strategy currently holds 818,334 BTC at an average acquisition cost of $75,537 per coin, with the digital assets carrying a combined market value of around $64.14 billion.

The Numbers Behind The Pivot

The backdrop is a tough first quarter: Strategy reported a net loss of $12.54 billion, driven by a $14.46 billion unrealized decline on its bitcoin holdings, as BTC slid toward $62,000 during February’s market pullback.

The company faces roughly $1.5 billion in annual obligations across its two preferred stock instruments: STRK, which pays 8%, and STRC, which pays approximately 10-11.5% annually. Strategy has about 18 months of dividend coverage remaining.

With bitcoin’s volatility limiting the firm’s ability to raise fresh capital on favorable terms, a selective sale of bitcoin, structured as accretive to BTC per share, offers a liquidity backstop that does not require issuing new equity at a discount.

Following the call, Strategy’s stock fell more than 4% in after-hours trading. Bitcoin itself briefly slipped below $81,000.

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2026-05-06 10:27