32 BTC Sale Tests Borrow-or-Sell Options for Bitcoin Treasuries

Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR) sold 32 bitcoin for $2.5 million to fund distributions on its STRC preferred stock, the company disclosed in a June 1 SEC filing. The sale took place between May 26 and May 31 at an average price of $77,135 per bitcoin.

The filing also shows Strategy sold 801,994 shares of its MSTR class stock in the same period, producing about $128.3 million in net proceeds. Company records list roughly 843,706 bitcoin in custody and a $900 million U.S. dollar reserve designated for preferred dividends and interest costs.

Strategy kept STRC’s annual dividend rate at 11.50% and declared a $0.958333333 cash dividend per STRC share for June. Filings show about $17.51 billion in remaining capacity to issue STRC shares.

The 32 bitcoin sale is small compared with Strategy’s overall holdings. The company has positioned itself publicly around bitcoin accumulation, making modest sales notable to market participants tracking treasury management.

Adam Reeds, CEO and co-founder of Ledn, posed the question: ‘When you need cash, do you sell the asset you most want to hold, or borrow against it?’

He noted that institutional borrowing options have changed since 2022, with lenders offering collateral held in segregated addresses, contractual bans on rehypothecation, proof-of-reserves and rated credit structures.

Some public companies have sold coins to meet cash obligations such as dividends and interest. Other firms are exploring loans that use bitcoin as collateral so they can preserve their holdings.

Investors are watching how public bitcoin holders balance reserves, dividend payouts, equity issuance and borrowing when they need cash. Choices about selling, issuing shares or borrowing will change reported reserves, outstanding share counts and the amount of bitcoin held on corporate balance sheets.