Key Takeaways
- Von Le, chief executive, clearly declares that Strategy remains ‘Largest Bitcoin Buyer’
- Last month’s BTC sale for market, tax, and process verification
Chief Executive Explains Intentions to Sell
Von Le, CEO of Strategy, the largest Bitcoin treasury company, on June 11 gave an exclusive interview to CNBC saying that the sale of 32 BTC at the end of May was “to show the market that Bitcoin can be sold when needed.”
Strategy purchased 1,550 BTC in the week from June 1 to 7, and “after offsetting, it net purchased about 1,500 BTC this month,” he said.
Three purposes for the sale were listed by Mr. Phong Le. The first reason was to demonstrate to the market that Strategy was willing and able to sell Bitcoin. The second reason, since selling is more complex in terms of operational procedures than buying, is that it is important to verify the process in actual practice. The third reason was about recording tax losses through sales and accumulating tax assets that can be recorded on the balance sheet for future uses.
Strategy held 843,706 BTC as of May 31, and this 32BTC sale represents only a small fraction of its total holdings. The funds raised from buying 1,550 BTC from June 1 to 7 were allocated to $181 million raised from the sale of 1,409,600 shares of MSTR common stock, with a buying price of $65,332 per BTC.
Concerns Over Preferred Stock Dividends Not Given
A few company investors said they were concerned about expanded future sales, but Mr. Phuong Le emphasized that, “There was no need to sell Bitcoin to pay dividends from preferred shares. The dividends can be covered by other capital raising methods.”
Mr. Vong Le identified four parties for stakeholders that Strategy has a commitment to: common shareholders (MSTR), preferred shareholders (STRC), creditors, and Bitcoin holders. He further stated, “We sell Bitcoin if we judge it makes sense for common shareholders. We did this in 2022 as well.”
Michael Saylor, co-founder, recently stated, “If the market thinks that strategies will never sell their BTC holdings, credit rating agencies will treat them as assets,” reiterating the importance of having the option to sell.
Chief executive Vong Le also concluded saying, “We remain the world’s largest Bitcoin holder and biggest buyer.”
