After the sharp withdrawal seen in Bitcoin last week, there was a difference of opinion among the leading figures in the market regarding the cause of the sales wave. While Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor argued that the decline was caused by artificial intelligence infrastructure expenditures attracting capital, crypto investment company Arca claimed that the pressure was directly fed by the news flow originating from Strategy.
Opposing comments on the reason for the sale
Arca Investment Director Jeff Dorman wrote in his weekly evaluation that last week’s sales pressure was clearly caused by the developments regarding Saylor and Strategy. Dorman suggested that some Bitcoin supporters are trying to misrepresent the extent of the impact on the market.
Saylor argued that spending on AI infrastructure created temporary pressure on global markets, which did not weaken Bitcoin and strengthened the thesis of scarce, liquid, digital capital.
Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset by market value, fell nearly 14 percent last week to $60,000. This move comes after Strategy announced on June 1 that it sold 32 BTC in the previous week. However, the company still has 845,256 BTC.
The main risk that Arca draws attention to is
According to Dorman, the factor that shook the market was not the size of the 32 BTC sold, but what this transaction signified. It was stated that the sale, worth approximately $ 2.5 million, raised concerns that Strategy may have to sell more Bitcoin in the future to meet its cash dividend obligations regarding its preferred shares.
After being established as a software company, Strategy became a corporate structure that stands out with large-scale Bitcoin accumulation on its balance sheet. The company has been closely watched in recent years, especially for its use of resources obtained through debt and equity-like instruments in Bitcoin purchases.
Mini-dictionary: An 8K filing is a type of formal notice used by publicly traded companies in the United States to quickly announce important developments to the Securities and Exchange Commission. From a market perspective, these filings are closely followed under topics such as financing, sale, merger or management change.
Possible scenario and market reaction
According to Arca’s assessment, some steps taken in the last three weeks have increased uncertainty. Dorman stated that the company used the only cash it had to pay off its zero-coupon debt, and that the limited Bitcoin sale that followed raised new question marks in the market. The assessment that current cash flow is sufficient for approximately five more months has led investors to question the next step.
Dorman noted that if Strategy announces that it raised $2 billion to $4 billion by selling MSTR stock and Bitcoin through an 8K filing, preferred stock dividends could be covered by September 2028, which could create strong relief in the market.
Dorman noted that in the scenario he sees as more likely, gradual sales may continue to cover monthly dividend payments, which could create regular pressure on the market. According to him, one of the world’s largest buyers becoming a forced seller could directly affect pricing behavior.
The sale had a limited impact on the altcoin market at first.
It was noteworthy that last week’s decline was largely limited to Bitcoin in the first stage. Dorman said this could be a positive sign in the digital asset market that investors are starting to evaluate each project based on its risk profile.
Bitcoin dominance rate also decreased for the second week in a row, falling below 58 percent and the lowest levels since September. It was reported that other crypto assets remained more resilient at the beginning of the week, but as the selling pressure hardened towards the end of the week, the broader market also joined the decline.
According to Arca, the fact that Bitcoin was able to decline alone with its unique negative news flow shows that investors are now being more selective rather than disposing of all digital assets at the same time.
