The disclosure caused a dispute on Polymarket, where more than $80 million had been wagered on whether the company would sell Bitcoin by May 31. Although the sale occurred before the deadline, it was not publicly revealed until June 1, leading Polymarket to initially propose a “No” resolution.
Strategy Bitcoin Sale Triggers Controversy
A dispute over the outcome of a Polymarket prediction market intensified after Strategy disclosed that it sold Bitcoin before the market’s deadline, despite the information only becoming public after the cutoff date. More than $80 million has been wagered on the market, which asked whether Strategy would sell Bitcoin by May 31.
The controversy began after Strategy revealed in a regulatory filing on June 1 that it sold 32 BTC worth approximately $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31. While the transaction itself occurred within the timeframe specified by the market, the disclosure was not made until after the deadline had passed. As a result, Polymarket initially moved to resolve the market as “No,” arguing that there was no publicly available confirmation of a Bitcoin sale before the deadline expired.
(Source: Polymarket)
This decision caused debate among market participants. Many users argued that the market should be settled based on whether the sale actually occurred before May 31, rather than when the information became public. Critics of the proposed resolution claimed that the underlying event clearly took place within the required period and that the market should reflect that fact. Several users expressed frustration in the market’s comment section, with some accusing the platform of prioritizing technical interpretations over the actual outcome.
Despite these objections, the market continued to indicate overwhelming confidence in a “No” resolution, with approximately 99.9% odds assigned to that outcome. However, the dispute process is still ongoing.
Because two proposed resolutions have already been challenged, the final decision will now be made by holders of the UMA token, which powers the decentralized oracle system used by Polymarket to settle prediction markets. According to the platform’s rules, the review process could take up to two days to complete.
The situation turned heads because the Bitcoin sale was Strategy’s first since 2022. The company has long been associated with an aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy and previously held firm that it did not intend to sell its holdings. Even after the sale, Strategy still holds more than $60 billion worth of Bitcoin, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the asset.