Strategy’s disclosure that it sold 32 bitcoin in May quickly brought back memories of its first-ever bitcoin sale in December 2022. Back then, the company sold 704 BTC for about $11.8 million. In both cases, the same question surfaced: was Michael Saylor’s company stepping away from its long-running bitcoin accumulation strategy?
The comparison is understandable. Strategy is the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder, and any disposal stands out because sales have been so rare in the company’s history. Each one draws attention to the balance sheet and to the durability of its bitcoin thesis. Still, the 2022 episode suggests that a single sale does not automatically reveal a broader shift.
The 2022 transaction came during one of crypto’s darkest stretches
Late 2022 was one of the most chaotic periods the crypto market had seen. After the collapse of FTX in early November, sentiment deteriorated sharply. Bitcoin had already fallen more than 75% from its peak near $69,000 a year earlier and had dropped below $16,000. Public commentary around the asset had turned deeply negative.
It was in that setting that the company, then still called MicroStrategy, sold 704 BTC in December. Management said the trade was intended to harvest tax losses that could offset future gains. The key detail came right after: just two days later, the firm bought 810 BTC, leaving its total bitcoin holdings larger than before the sale.
Critics saw weakness, but the selloff never became a cycle
That explanation did not stop criticism at the time. Gold advocate Peter Schiff argued that the sale exposed cracks in Saylor’s commitment to bitcoin and hinted that it could mark the start of wider liquidation. In a separate post, he noted that MicroStrategy shares had hit a 52-week low and were down 90% from their record high in February 2021.
History moved in another direction. The December 2022 sale did not become the beginning of repeated disposals. Instead, it took place near the bottom of the bear market. In the years that followed, bitcoin rebounded to record highs and Strategy expanded its holdings aggressively. The company’s stash grew from about 132,500 BTC at the end of 2022 to more than 843,000 BTC today.
The lesson is caution, not blind repetition
That record may tempt some investors to wave off the latest 32 BTC sale as meaningless. But the stronger takeaway from 2022 is narrower than that. One sale, by itself, may be too little evidence to prove a strategic retreat. At the same time, the company is no longer the same size or in the same position it was several years ago.
So the 2022 precedent cuts both ways. It argues against overreacting to a single disposal, yet it does not justify copying the old conclusion without adjustment. Based on the source material, the latest sale is small, but the available facts do not go far beyond that. What can be said with confidence is limited: one modest bitcoin sale is not enough on its own to show that Strategy has abandoned its long-term accumulation approach.