After MSTR's continued net losses, Saylor reverses course: Bitcoin is no longer "hold forever," can be used as a payment tool.
Article by Jai Hamid
Compiled by AididiaoJP, Foresight News
Summary
- Saylor said Strategy may sell a portion of its Bitcoin if it benefits the company.
- The strategy report shows a net loss of $12.54 billion, with holdings of 818,334 BTC.
- The company has approximately $1.5 billion in dividend and debt-related obligations.
Michael Saylor has now categorized Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves alongside the company’s other assets: useful, valuable, and sellable when the company needs cash.
This is the real story behind MSTR's third consecutive earnings miss, as Saylor himself stated that the company could sell Bitcoin if it benefits the business.
This comment was made during Strategy's Q1 earnings call on May 5. Saylor stated that he would not rule out selling Bitcoin if it aligned with Strategy's interests. He also indicated that the company might use a portion of its holdings to pay dividends and would notify the market in advance if it did so.
His exact words were:
We may sell some Bitcoin to pay dividends, just to allow the market to adjust and convey this message. Real estate development companies exist to buy land at low prices and sell it at high prices—we are like a Bitcoin development company.
Saylor tells investors: Strategy can use Bitcoin sales to cover dividend bills.
Strategy (MSTR) still holds one of the largest corporate Bitcoin positions globally. The company disclosed ownership of 818,334 BTC, with an average cost of $75,537 per BTC. This is a massive bet, but it also means that any significant drop in Bitcoin’s price will severely impact the company’s balance sheet.
The company reported a net loss of $12.54 billion for the fourth quarter, along with approximately $1.5 billion in dividend obligations. This figure includes annual dividends on preferred stock and interest expense on debt recorded on the balance sheet.
Based on its U.S. dollar reserves, Strategy has approximately 18 months of payment coverage. This is why Saylor’s comments are so significant. He did not frame the potential sale of Bitcoin as a panic sell-off, but rather as part of the company’s aggressive credit strategy.
He summarized the plan as follows: "You use credit to buy Bitcoin, let it appreciate, then sell the Bitcoin to pay dividends."
The market did not react calmly to this comment. Strategy (MSTR) dropped more than 4% after hours. Bitcoin also fell below $81,000, after having been above that level just hours earlier. For crypto traders, this is the part that had an immediate impact: a company built around holding BTC has just told the market that selling is permitted.
The 2022 sale and the 2026 accounting impact have put pressure on Saylor’s comments.
The company has previously made one actual sale of Bitcoin. On December 22, 2022, MicroStrategy sold 704 BTC, receiving approximately $11.8 million. This was the company’s first sale of any Bitcoin.
The sale occurred after a difficult year for the market. During the earnings call on May 3, 2022, MicroStrategy’s CFO, Phong Le, stated that if Bitcoin fell to around $21,000, the company could face margin calls. If this happened, the company would need to sell Bitcoin or post additional collateral.
When Bitcoin later dropped to approximately $20,800 in June 2022, MicroStrategy stated that it did not receive any margin calls. The company also indicated that it had sufficient capital to withstand further price fluctuations.
Pressure resurfaced by the end of November 2025. Forbes reported that MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) stock price had fallen 60% compared to the previous year. Its market capitalization dropped to $49 billion, while its Bitcoin holdings were valued at approximately $56 billion during the same period. Market observers linked comments from MicroStrategy’s CEO, Phong Le, about potentially selling Bitcoin to the price of Bitcoin falling below $86,000 in early December 2025.
Today, Phong said:
We consider selling Bitcoin in the future—whether exchanging it for U.S. dollars or selling Bitcoin to purchase debt when it is advantageous relative to Bitcoin’s per-share value. We will sell Bitcoin when it benefits the company. We will not sit idle and say, “We will never sell Bitcoin.” We aim to be a net accumulator of Bitcoin—increasing the total amount of Bitcoin, but more importantly, increasing Bitcoin per share, as we believe this is what will create the greatest long-term value for MSTR.
The strategy recorded a $2.2 billion valuation allowance due to the expectation that deferred tax assets related to unrealized losses on bitcoin in the first quarter will not be realizable. The company purchased 89,599 BTC during the quarter, but its digital assets still decreased by $7.2 billion due to a 23% decline in bitcoin’s price. The report also showed that STRC issuance contributed $2.1 billion in growth during the first quarter.