Although Strategy’s sale of 32 Bitcoins was seen as a limited transaction in terms of the company’s balance sheet, it had a stronger impact in the market than expected. Although the company still holds hundreds of thousands of BTC, the move has brought into question a fundamental assumption about companies pursuing a Bitcoin treasury strategy: Institutional buyers buy Bitcoin, but do not sell it.
Market impact of Strategy sale
When Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, announced that it sold BTC for the first time in 2022 outside of a tax-related transaction, attention was again turned to the company’s treasury model. Even though the amount sold was only 32 BTC, the market saw this transaction as symbolically important.
In its market summary, Delphi Digital stated that Strategy is no longer read as a pure tool that only accumulates in one direction, and that the old understanding of “never sells” has now been broken not only at the rhetorical level but also in practice.
This development reignited discussions about how companies that accumulate Bitcoin should be valued. Although Strategy maintains its goal of increasing Bitcoin per share, the latest transaction shows that even the most determined institutional investors can face financial realities.
Regulatory debate intensifies in the USA
Tensions over crypto regulations in the US also rose throughout the week. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the banking industry will oppose the final version of the CLARITY Act. According to Dimon, the bill could grant crypto companies some privileges without the obligations that traditional financial institutions are subject to.
Jamie Dimon stated that banks oppose the latest CLARITY Act regulation, and that the introduction of articles that allow the offering of interest-bearing products without the capital and compliance conditions applied to banks creates problems.
CLARITY Act stands out as a market structure draft that aims to clarify by which institution and within what framework the crypto market in the USA will be supervised.
Mini dictionary: The CLARITY Act is a bill that aims to clarify the regulatory status of crypto assets in the United States. The bill could reduce legal uncertainty, according to industry representatives; Critics argue that it could lead to different rules between traditional finance and crypto companies.
Supporters of the bill argue that it will provide long-awaited clarity and encourage innovation, while opponents point to the risk that the regulatory burden will not be distributed evenly.
New steps on the Capital B and Coinbase front
Capital B, a France-based Bitcoin treasury company, is seeking shareholder approval to significantly increase its capital raising capacity. The proposal, which will be voted on at the general assembly on June 17, includes a wide-ranging authorization request, including the issuance of new shares of 5 billion euros and credit instruments worth approximately $116 billion. The company plans to use this resource for future Bitcoin purchases.
The total financing provided by the company to date is approximately 325 million dollars. It was reported that Blockstream CEO Adam Back and asset manager TOBAM supported the last fund increase. Capital B bought 192 BTC for $15.2 million last month, and added 4 more BTC on Monday, bringing its total holdings to 3,139 BTC.
In other news, Coinbase invested an undisclosed amount in the ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF. This fund, traded under the code IQMM, invests in cash, bank deposits and short-term US Treasury securities that can be considered stablecoin reserves under the GENIUS Act.
The move shows growing interest in reserve assets as the US moves closer to creating a federal framework for stablecoins. If the regulation comes into effect and usage continues to grow, stablecoin issuers are expected to become significant buyers of Treasury bills and similar high-liquid instruments.
