Michael Saylor said on Strategy’s 2026 first-quarter earnings call that the company may sell some Bitcoin to fund preferred stock dividends. The comment came in response to analyst questions about how Strategy plans to manage roughly $1.5 billion in annual dividend and interest obligations. Saylor said, “We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it.” His framing was clear: sell a small amount proactively so the market does not later interpret any sale as distressed liquidation.
A shift from the old hold-forever message
The significance of the remark goes beyond the possibility of a sale. For years, Strategy and Saylor were closely associated with the idea that Bitcoin should be held as a long-term treasury reserve asset with no intention of selling. On the same call, Saylor described the model in simple terms: buy Bitcoin with credit, let it appreciate, then sell part of it to pay dividends.
That description points to a broader capital structure rather than a pure accumulation story. Strategy raises funds through instruments such as preferred stock and bonds, holds Bitcoin, and may eventually monetize a portion of the position to cover fixed obligations. The company’s Bitcoin strategy, as presented on the call, now includes the possibility of selective sales.
818,334 BTC on the balance sheet, with fixed obligations rising
As of the end of Q1, Strategy held 818,334 BTC at an average cost of about $75,537. That was up 47% from 555,450 BTC. By size, the company remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.
At the same time, the liability side of the balance sheet is drawing more attention. Strategy’s annual dividends and interest obligations total about $1.5 billion. Cash on hand at the end of the quarter stood at roughly $2.25 billion, which Saylor indicated was enough to cover about 18 months of preferred stock dividends. He also said STRC preferred stock reached a market capitalization of $8.5 billion within nine months of launch, making it one of the largest preferred stocks globally.
Market reaction focused on valuation logic, not just Q1 losses
Strategy reported a $12.54 billion net loss for Q1 and a diluted loss per share of $38.25. The main driver was an unrealized fair value loss on Bitcoin of $14.5 billion under FASB ASC 321, reflecting a quarter in which Bitcoin fell from $87,000 to $68,000, a drop of about 22%.
After the earnings call, MSTR fell more than 4% in after-hours trading, while Bitcoin briefly slipped below $81,000. The reaction suggested that investors were not mainly focused on the accounting loss itself. The bigger issue was the public acknowledgment that Strategy may sell BTC. Part of MSTR’s long-standing premium to net asset value has been tied to the belief that the company would keep accumulating and not sell its Bitcoin. Once that assumption weakens, the market has to revisit how it values the stock.
Saylor tried to separate a deliberate, strategic sale from the idea of forced selling pressure. The next questions for the market are straightforward: whether Bitcoin appreciates enough before any sale happens, and whether investors accept that selling part of the holdings can still fit within a long-term bullish stance.