MicroStrategy Sells 1,638 BTC at Loss to Fund Preferred Stock Repurchases

Morning Minute — Tyler Warner (opinions his own): GM! Today’s top story: Saylor sells more BTC — and MicroStrategy’s balance sheet dance raises fresh questions. What happened - MicroStrategy (filed as “Strategy”) sold 1,638 BTC last week, according to an 8-K filed Monday, fetching $104.7 million. That trims its holdings to 842,138 BTC from 843,775. - The sale averaged $63,957 per coin — roughly $11,500 below the company’s $75,419 cost basis — meaning the company realized a loss on this dump. - MicroStrategy hasn’t bought Bitcoin since June 22, marking its longest pause in purchases. How the proceeds were used - The company also sold about $291 million in MSTR shares. - From the cash raised: $52.4 million covered dividends on MicroStrategy’s STRC preferred stock, and $52.3 million was used toward an $81 million repurchase of STRC preferred shares — the second buyback in two weeks under a $1 billion program. - The remainder bolstered cash reserves to roughly $4 billion, which the company says equates to about 2.3 years of runway. Why this matters - STRC has traded below its $100 par value since mid‑May. To shore up the preferred stock, MicroStrategy is selling Bitcoin at a loss and offloading common shares — a move that effectively dilutes common shareholders to stabilize the preferreds. That dynamic has been weighing on the company’s capital structure and investor sentiment. - The optics are notable because they contrast sharply with MicroStrategy cofounder Michael Saylor’s long‑standing “never sell” rhetoric. On Aug. 3, 2026 Saylor tweeted: “When I say ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin,’ I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi. Strategy is a public company, not my wallet. Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.” The message signals a distinction between his personal holdings and corporate treasury management — and marks a clear pivot from earlier, absolutist language. Market context - The sale comes against a week of bruising headlines: a $100M+ Coldcard hack and MicroStrategy’s reported $100M-plus liquidation. Still, Bitcoin’s price was essentially flat on the week — suggesting that, for now, negative headlines are having less immediate price impact than they used to. That resilience may say something about where we are in the market cycle. Bottom line MicroStrategy’s recent moves underline the tension between corporate financial engineering and long‑term BTC conviction. Selling Bitcoin at a loss to shore up preferred stock and preserve runway is a pragmatic step — but it’s also a reminder that corporate treasuries can change the narrative around “HODL” when balance‑sheet pressures mount. Also on the radar: corporate treasuries, ETFs and meme‑coin flows.