Saylor Defends Strategy Bitcoin Sale as Necessary for Digital Credit Products

Strategy sold 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31, 2026. The SEC filing dated June 1 showed proceeds of $2.5 million at an average of $77,135 per coin. The filing stated those proceeds would fund preferred stock distributions.

The sale was Strategy's first disclosed Bitcoin disposal since 2022. It appeared to clash with Michael Saylor's well-known position that investors should never sell their Bitcoin. At BTC Prague, Saylor explained the reasoning.

Saylor's Explanation

Saylor argued that a Bitcoin treasury company running credit products cannot maintain a no-sell policy. If it did, he said, neither the credit nor the equity would retain value. "The company is in the business of selling digital credit," he told Cointelegraph.

Saylor frames Strategy's preferred stock instruments as "digital credit" — yield-bearing securities backed by the company's Bitcoin reserves. STRC, the variable-rate preferred stock, pays an annualized dividend rate of 11.50%. He said digital credit products can offer yields three to four times higher than traditional savings accounts.

How Strategy Built This Structure

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, first bought Bitcoin in August 2020, acquiring 21,454 BTC for $250 million. Through 2025, the company raised $25.3 billion in capital and grew its holdings to 713,502 BTC. It rebranded to Strategy in early 2025 to reflect its Bitcoin-first identity.

As of June 8, 2026, Strategy holds 845,256 BTC. Total cost basis is $63.97 billion at an average purchase price of $75,680 per coin. At roughly $64,000 per BTC, the position is currently worth about $54.5 billion — below cost.

The Preferred Stock Complex

To fund ongoing Bitcoin purchases, Strategy launched five preferred stock series: STRK, STRF, STRD, STRC, and STRE. STRC alone generates roughly $80 to $90 million in monthly dividend obligations. Combined ATM capacity across all series runs into tens of billions of dollars.

The 32 BTC sale raised only $2.5 million. Against those ongoing obligations, the amount is minimal. The sale's importance is structural, not financial: it confirmed Strategy will liquidate Bitcoin to service credit when needed.

A Trillion-Dollar Ambition

Saylor described digital credit markets as the next "trillion-dollar opportunity" in finance. He pointed to protocols like Apyx as examples of yield-bearing products built on Strategy's credit structure. These systems use STRC shares as collateral to issue onchain dollar instruments.

Apyx's apxUSD stablecoin uses STRC as its primary reserve asset. As of March 2026, Apyx held approximately 288,888 STRC shares. Dividend income from those shares flows to token holders through a two-token system.

When the Model Faces Pressure

On June 4, apxUSD fell to as low as $0.90. Bitcoin had dropped below $63,000, pulling STRC shares below their $100 par value and reducing apxUSD's reserve value. The stablecoin was trading around $0.96 at the time of reporting.

Apyx characterized the event as expected behavior, not a system failure. No widespread liquidations occurred in linked lending markets. STRC had previously dipped below par four times since August 2025, recovering each time.

The chain of dependencies runs in one direction: Bitcoin price affects STRC valuation, which affects apxUSD reserves, which affects the stablecoin's peg. A short price dip tests the system; a prolonged one would test it harder.

What Changes and What Doesn't

The 32 BTC sale does not reverse Strategy's accumulation posture. Between June 1 and June 7, Strategy purchased 1,550 BTC at an average of $65,332, lifting holdings to 845,256 BTC. Buying continues at scale alongside selling for dividends.

What has changed is Strategy's public identity. The company now openly operates as a credit issuer that accumulates Bitcoin through equity issuance and pledges it to support preferred dividends. The straightforward buy-and-hold model of 2020 to 2024 is now a more complex financial structure.

The core risk is not hidden. If Bitcoin falls far enough and stays there, STRC dividends become harder to sustain and products like apxUSD face prolonged pressure. Strategy's entire credit structure depends on Bitcoin staying high enough that collateral value covers the obligations it backs.