Strategy CEO Says Bitcoin Sale Was a Test, Not a Retreat From BTC

Highlights:

• Strategy sold 32 Bitcoins to test its systems and reassure investors, Phong Le said.
• Le said Strategy remains the largest Bitcoin holder and will continue buying more BTC.
• He said Bitcoin faces pressure from rate uncertainty, wars, and unclear crypto rules.

Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company’s recent Bitcoin sale was not a move away from its long-term Bitcoin strategy. Instead, he said the sale was a small and planned step to test the company’s process and calm the market.

Speaking to CNBC’s Power Lunch on Wednesday, Le explained that Strategy wanted to show investors that it can sell Bitcoin when needed without creating panic or confusion. “We wanted to inoculate the market and we wanted to test our processes,” Le said. “We learned that everything works.”

The comments came after Strategy sold 32 Bitcoins between May 26 and May 31. The company received about $2.5 million from the sale, at an average price of $77,135 per Bitcoin. The sale represented only 0.004% of Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings, but it still drew strong attention because the company is known for its aggressive Bitcoin buying strategy.

Le Says Strategy Did Not Sell Bitcoin Out of Financial Pressure

Le made it clear that Strategy did not sell Bitcoin because it needed cash urgently. He said the company did not need to use Bitcoin to pay dividends. “We did not need to sell our Bitcoin to satisfy our dividends,” he said. “We’re able to do that through other capital-raising activities.”

According to Le, the sale had three main purposes. First, Strategy wanted to prove that it can sell Bitcoin if needed. Second, it wanted to confirm that its internal systems for handling a Bitcoin sale work properly. Third, the company wanted to create possible tax benefits by selling Bitcoin that had a lower cost basis.

Le later repeated this message on X, saying Strategy remains committed to growing its Bitcoin position. “We’re the largest holder of Bitcoin in the world. We’re the largest purchaser of Bitcoin in the world. And we’ll continue to be,” he wrote.

"We're the largest holder of Bitcoin in the world. We're the largest purchaser of Bitcoin in the world. And we'll continue to be". Watch my conversation with @CNBC @PowerLunch below.

00:00 — "We're net purchasers of Bitcoin." The 32 BTC sale helped inoculate the market, test our… pic.twitter.com/aHlcNincNU

— Phong Le (@phongle) June 10, 2026

Strategy Says It Must Consider All Shareholders

Le also responded to criticism from investors who believed Strategy should never sell Bitcoin. He said the company has different groups to answer to, including common stockholders, preferred shareholders, debt holders, and Bitcoin holders. “We have a set of constituents that we have to be able to answer to,” Le said. He added, “When it makes sense for our common stockholders for us to sell our Bitcoin, we will.”

Le said the company’s institutional shareholders did not seem worried by the move. “Our institutional shareholders that we talked to don’t seem to be unnerved by it,” he said. Le also spoke about the wider pressure on Bitcoin. He pointed to uncertainty around Federal Reserve interest rates, two ongoing global wars, and a lack of clear crypto rules from Congress as factors weighing on the market. 

Even with those risks, Le said he still believes in Bitcoin’s long-term role. “I do think Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation. I think Bitcoin is a hedge against big government,” he said. Strategy bought 1,550 BTC for about $101.3 million between June 1 and June 7. After that purchase, its total holdings increased to 845,256 BTC.

Strategy has acquired 1,550 BTC for $101 million to increase our $BTC Reserve to ₿845,256. We have also increased our USD Reserve by $100 million to $1.0 billion. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/1Zf1AVsP1H

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) June 8, 2026

Bitcoin and Strategy shares remain under pressure. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $62,600, down 50% from its all-time high of $126,198. Strategy’s stock, MSTR, was also lower at $115.35, according to Google Finance data. The stock is down about 74.8% from its 52-week high of $457.22.