Michael Saylor: Strategy will sell Bitcoin to pay dividends after three consecutive quarters of losses

Article by: Jai Hamid

Translated by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

Summary

• Saylor states that if it benefits the company, Strategy may sell some Bitcoin.

• Strategy reports a net loss of $12.54 billion, while holding 818,334 BTC.

• The company has approximately $1.5 billion in dividend and debt-related obligations.

Michael Saylor has now categorized Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves alongside other company assets: useful, valuable, and available for sale when the company needs cash.

This is the real story behind Strategy (MSTR)’s third consecutive quarterly loss, as Saylor personally states that the company can sell Bitcoin if it benefits the business.

This comment was made during Strategy’s Q1 earnings call on May 5. Saylor said that if it aligns with Strategy’s interests, he would not rule out selling Bitcoin. He also mentioned that the company might use part of its holdings to pay dividends and would notify the market in advance before doing so.

His exact words were:

“We might sell some Bitcoin to pay dividends, just to help the market adjust and communicate that. The purpose of a real estate development company is to buy land at low prices and sell at high prices. We are like a Bitcoin development company.”

Saylor tells investors: Strategy can use Bitcoin sales to cover dividend bills

Strategy (MSTR) still holds one of the largest corporate Bitcoin positions globally. The company disclosed holding 818,334 BTC, with an average cost of $75,537 per coin. It’s a huge bet, but it also means that any significant drop in Bitcoin’s price could severely impact the company’s books.

The company reported a net loss of $12.54 billion in the fourth quarter, along with approximately $1.5 billion in dividend obligations. This figure includes annual dividends on preferred stock and interest on debt recorded on the balance sheet.

Based on its dollar reserves, Strategy has about an 18-month coverage period for payments. That’s why Saylor’s comments are so significant. He did not describe a potential Bitcoin sale as a panic dump but as part of the company’s heavily leveraged strategy.

He summarized the plan as: “You buy Bitcoin with credit, let it appreciate, then sell Bitcoin to pay dividends.”

The market reacted strongly to this comment. Strategy (MSTR) fell over 4% after hours. Bitcoin also dropped below $81,000, having been above that level just hours earlier. For crypto traders, this is the part that quickly impacts the market. A company built around holding BTC just told the market: selling is permitted.

Strategy’s 2022 sales and the 2026 accounting impact put Saylor’s comments under pressure

The company has only once truly sold Bitcoin in its history. On December 22, 2022, MicroStrategy sold 704 BTC for about $11.8 million. This was the company’s first sale of any Bitcoin.

That sale occurred after a difficult year in the market. During the earnings call on May 3, 2022, MicroStrategy CFO Phong Le said that if Bitcoin fell close to $21,000, the company might face a margin call. If that happened, the company would need to sell Bitcoin or add more collateral.

When Bitcoin later dropped to about $20,800 in June 2022, MicroStrategy said it had not received a margin call. The company also stated it had enough capital to withstand further price volatility.

Pressure re-emerged at the end of November 2025. Forbes reported that Strategy (MSTR)’s stock price had fallen 60% from the previous year. Its market cap dropped to $49 billion, while its Bitcoin holdings were worth about $56 billion at the time. After Strategy CEO Phong Le discussed the possibility of selling Bitcoin, market observers linked this statement to Bitcoin falling below $86,000 in early December 2025.

Today, Phong said:

“We are considering selling Bitcoin in the future—whether to convert to dollars or to sell Bitcoin to buy debt when it’s advantageous for Bitcoin per share. We will sell Bitcoin when it benefits the company. We won’t sit back and say ‘We will never sell Bitcoin.’ We want to be a net aggregator of Bitcoin—adding to the total Bitcoin holdings, but more importantly increasing Bitcoin per share, because we believe that’s the most valuable long-term for MSTR.”

Strategy recorded a $2.2 billion valuation reserve, as deferred tax assets related to unrealized Bitcoin losses in Q1 are expected to be un realizable. The company purchased 89,599 BTC during the quarter, but its digital assets still declined by $7.2 billion due to a 23% drop in Bitcoin’s price. The report also showed that STRC issuance in Q1 contributed $2.1 billion in growth.