US enterprise software company Strategy stands out as one of the companies with the most assets in the Bitcoin market, with 818,334 BTC in its possession. Although the company’s Chairman of the Board, Michael Saylor, has long been known for his “Bitcoin cannot be sold” approach, his latest statements have raised new question marks in the markets regarding the company’s Bitcoin portfolio.
Sales Controversy and Saylor’s Statements
In the analyst meetings held after the first quarter financial results, Saylor stated that the sale of a small portion of Bitcoin in their portfolio may be on the agenda. Saylor emphasized that this sale possibility was brought up to support the dividend payments associated with the company’s preferred stock called STRC, which provides an annual return of 11.5 percent. Despite this, he stated that the company’s basic strategy has not changed, and that the purpose of possible sales is not to generate net income, but to create resources to buy more Bitcoin.
“If we were to sell one Bitcoin, we would then buy 10 to 20 new Bitcoins,” he said, adding that this model aims to reach larger positions with temporary and limited transactions.
Speaking about this approach, Saylor stated that the company’s attitude does not mean giving up its Bitcoin policy, and that they manage capital similar to the growth investments of a technology company.
STRC Dividends and Financial Position
The company’s preferred stock, traded under the ticker symbol STRC, stands out with an annual dividend yield of approximately 11.5 percent. The total size of STRC portfolio is 8.5 billion dollars. It is considered that Bitcoin sales may be resorted to from time to time in order to meet these high dividend obligations. CEO Phong Le stated that the sales in question could only be made if it was more advantageous in terms of the total interest of the shareholders, instead of issuing new shares, and said that this decision would be made entirely based on financial analysis.
The company also maintains a cash reserve of $2.25 billion against possible cash outflows. A new proposal for semi-monthly payment of STRC dividends is also on the management agenda.
Market Reactions and Criticisms
The possibility that the company may sell Bitcoin from time to time to supplement dividend payments has caused discomfort among some investors who advocate a long-term accumulation vision. However, the company management emphasizes that such limited sales do not change the main goal of increasing the amount of Bitcoin per unit.
Michael Saylor’s approach on this issue has also been the target of criticism from economist Peter Schiff, who is known for his frequent anti-Bitcoin views. Schiff expressed a negative opinion about the sustainability of the STRC share structure, suggesting that there may be pressure between dividend payments and preserving Bitcoin reserves. Saylor countered these comments by stating that Schiff did not recognize Bitcoin as a digital asset and therefore did not understand its value.
Strategy management states that they designed the company’s growth strategy as “Bitcoin as digital capital and STRC as a digital credit product.” The company stock MSTR moves based on the performance of the relevant crypto asset.
According to JP Morgan’s analysis, it is predicted that Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases could reach up to $30 billion. While the average purchase price paid by the company for Bitcoins is $75,537, it has an unrealized profit of approximately 7.02 percent with the current amount. The market value of BTC in hand was announced as approximately 66.15 billion dollars in the latest reports.
