Bitcoin

MSTR

Fort Knox

would

<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/michael-saylor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Michael Saylor</a> had one message about Bitcoin: never sell.
He turned <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/strategy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Strategy</a> (NASDAQ: MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, into the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the public markets.
Now that message just cracked.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/trump-calls-for-physical-audit-of-fort-knox-after-40m-gold-arrest" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Trump calls for physical audit of Fort Knox after $40M gold arrest</a>
<h2 id="michael-saylor-s-bitcoin-company">Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin company</h2>
Between May 26 and May 31, Strategy <a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltf8d808d9b8cebd37/blt01aedf36c9f1b5b3/6a1cdb95487e7818fe49dd85/form-8-k_06-01-2026.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sold 32 Bitcoin</a> for roughly $2.5 million, according to a company filing. It was Strategy's first Bitcoin sale since 2022, and it brought the company's holdings down to 843,706 BTC.
The amount is tiny. Strategy held 843,738 Bitcoin as of May 25, a stake worth roughly $61 billion at current prices.&nbsp;
But it matters because of who did it and what they said for years. This is the company that made "never sell" a brand.
<h3 id="trending-on-thestreet-roundtable">Trending on TheStreet Roundtable</h3>
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 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/jpmorgan-ceo-dimon-sends-blunt-message-on-clarity" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jamie Dimon sends blunt message on CLARITY</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="every-time-saylor-said-he-would-never-sell">Every time Saylor said he would never sell</h2>
Saylor, Strategy's executive chairman and co-founder, spent years saying the company would hold its Bitcoin no matter what.
<ul>
 <li>January 2022, Bloomberg: With Bitcoin down about 40%, Saylor was asked whether Strategy would sell. "We're not sellers," he <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-20/microstrategy-s-saylor-says-no-plan-to-change-bitcoin-strategy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told Bloomberg</a>. "We're only acquiring and holding bitcoin, right? That's our strategy." (The company did sell a small amount that December for tax reasons, its only prior sale.)</li>
 <li>February 2025, on X: As Bitcoin slid below $85,000, Saylor <a href="https://x.com/saylor/status/1895325810942411234" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">posted</a>, "Sell a kidney if you must, but keep the Bitcoin."</li>
 <li>February 2026, CNBC "Squawk Box": Pressed by Andrew Ross Sorkin on what he would do if Bitcoin fell and stayed down for years, Saylor <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/10/strategys-michael-saylor-we-wont-be-selling-bitcoin-well-be-buying-every-quarter-forever.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a>, "We're not going to be selling, we're going to be buying," and that Strategy would buy "every quarter forever." He said the company would refinance debt before selling Bitcoin.</li>
</ul>
That is how absolute the stance was. As recently as February, three months before this sale, the answer was still never.
<h2 id="saylor-s-stance-started-softening-weeks-ago">Saylor's stance started softening weeks ago</h2>
On May 5, during Strategy's earnings call, Saylor said the company could sell Bitcoin to fund dividends. "Yeah, we'll probably sell some bitcoin," he said.
Later in the month, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEr52ktZQLo" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> it was "not unlikely that we'll sell some Bitcoin between now and the end of the year."
Then on May 28, Strategy <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/michael-saylor-moves-30-million-in-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">moved</a> 411.48 BTC, worth about $30.3 million, to Coinbase Prime, a platform used for custody and structured sales. Transfers like that do not always mean a sale is coming.
<h3 id="trending-on-thestreet-a-href-https-roundtable-io-rel-noopener-noreferrer-nofollow-roundtable-a">Trending on TheStreet <a href="https://roundtable.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Roundtable</a></h3>
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 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/live-markets-react-after-trump-says-the-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-will-be-lifted" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Markets react after Trump says Strait of Hormuz blockade will be lifted</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/treasury-secretary-issues-blunt-warning-on-u-s-digital-dollar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Treasury Secretary issues blunt warning on U.S. digital dollar</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/jpmorgan-ceo-dimon-sends-blunt-message-on-clarity" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jamie Dimon sends blunt message on CLARITY</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="why-now">Why now</h2>
Strategy reported a net loss of about $12.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, its third straight quarterly loss.
Part of the problem is the math on its own stack. Strategy acquired its Bitcoin for roughly $63.87 billion, an average price near $75,700 per coin. With Bitcoin trading around $72,100, the company is now slightly underwater on its average cost, which feeds directly into those reported losses.
Saylor's argument is that selling can actually be accretive.&nbsp;
On the May call, he claimed Strategy could buy roughly 20 Bitcoin for every one it sells if dividends are funded through Bitcoin sales, framing it as a financial maneuver rather than a retreat.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading around $72,100, down more than 2%.
At the time of writing, MSTR was trading at $151.61, down 4.5% on the day following disclosure of the sale.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/billionaire-peter-thiel-moves-out-of-u-s-citing-harsh-concerns" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Billionaire Peter Thiel moves out of U.S. citing harsh concerns</a>

Michael Saylor's Strategy stock plunges after rare sale

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