Junk-silver analyst lashes out at MicroStrategy: Saylor’s signal about not selling Bitcoin is too vague—BTC looks bullish in the short term; wait until it’s clearer.

Strategy has shifted from “not selling Bitcoin” to “using BTC to support preferred shares.” A Standard Chartered analyst said outright that Saylor’s message is not clear enough, and in the short term it may blur BTC’s price direction.
(Background recap: Big news! Strategy (MicroStrategy) “cuts losses and sells coins,” dumping 3,588 BTC, plunging to an $8.3 billion loss in Q2)
(Additional context: Has the time to buy the Bitcoin dip arrived? Glassnode: BTC has sunk into a five-month “deep discount”; 3 key signals to watch as the bull market returns)

Table of Contents

Toggle

• The era of Saylor’s “not selling Bitcoin” is over
• Standard Chartered: unclear signals may weigh on BTC in the short term
• MSTR stock price trend: down 70% over a year

Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Crypto Asset Research at Standard Chartered, said in an analysis report to clients on Friday that Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) chairman Michael Saylor’s message about its shift in Bitcoin investment strategy is not clear enough, and in the short term may cause confusion in the market about BTC prices.

The era of Saylor’s “not selling Bitcoin” is over

On Sunday, Saylor sent investors a new signal again via social media. In the post, he attached a Saylortracker chart and wrote, “The orange dots only tell part of the story.” This style of posting is almost identical to the way Strategy previously added to its Bitcoin position, and it typically publishes buy signals the next day.

But Strategy’s investment strategy has quietly changed. Over the past few weeks, the world’s largest digital asset treasury company has moved from the classic “never sell Bitcoin” strategy to a new model: “if needed, sell BTC to pay STRC preferred-share dividends.”

Earlier this month, Strategy sold Bitcoin worth $216 million. According to an 8-K filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 6, its total holdings fell to 843,775 BTC.

Standard Chartered: unclear signals may suppress BTC in the short term

Kendrick said Strategy’s recent actions and its communication approach with Saylor have “blurred BTC’s trajectory in the near term.”

“We believe that effectively communicating MSTR’s new strategy (supporting STRC with BTC) is key to calming the market and avoiding large-scale sell-offs; this in turn will support BTC’s price,” Kendrick wrote in the Friday analysis report. “If these market signals prove effective, MSTR may even be able to support STRC’s price without actually selling any BTC.”

Kendrick also pointed out that the “never sell” strategy Strategy has long adhered to limits the scope of the company’s largest Bitcoin asset deployment. “The problem is that not selling limits what MSTR’s BTC holdings can do—or, more accurately, what the market thinks they are doing.”

However, Kendrick expects Strategy’s “market signals” to improve soon, which should bring more clarity to the Bitcoin outlook. Standard Chartered’s year-end price forecast for Bitcoin remains at $100k.

MSTR stock price trend: down 70% over a year

Investors who have held Strategy over the past 12 months have not had a good time.

STRC preferred shares are designed with a $100 par value, but last month they fell to the lowest level since the preferred stock was launched a year ago. The common stock traded under the MSTR ticker is even worse: since July 2025 it has dropped more than 70%. On Friday’s close, it was only $94.64, far from the 52-week high of $457.22.

Strategy is expected to release its Q2 financial results on July 30. According to Yahoo Finance data, the analyst consensus is $4.28 per share. According to Fintel.io data, in six of the past eight quarters Strategy came in below analyst expectations, and the Q1 2026 results showed a negative surprise of 33.76%.