MicroStrategy Sells 32 BTC to Fund Preferred Dividends

MicroStrategy reported in an 8-K filed Monday that it sold 32 Bitcoin last week for about $2.5 million, at an average price of $77,135 per coin. The company said the proceeds will be used to pay distributions on its preferred perpetual stock. The sale reduced MicroStrategy’s reported holdings to about 843,706 BTC, valued at roughly $61 billion at current prices.

Bitcoin’s price fell in early June, moving from around $74,000 to near $65,400, and liquidations of leveraged crypto positions reached about $1.76 billion on June 2, according to market data. MicroStrategy’s common shares declined sharply in the trading days after the filing, and the company’s preferred stock traded below its $100 par value.

The 32-BTC sale is MicroStrategy’s first reported Bitcoin sale since 2022. The transaction followed several financing actions by the company over a multi-week period: MicroStrategy used about $1.38 billion in cash to repurchase and retire roughly $1.5 billion of 2029 convertible bonds, and it purchased 24,869 BTC using proceeds from a $2 billion offering of preferred stock. Those purchases reduced corporate cash ahead of a monthly distribution to preferred holders.

MicroStrategy chair Michael Saylor told investors on an earnings call last month that “we will probably sell some Bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it.” The company’s filing did not specify additional planned sales.

Analysts and market participants offered differing takes on the transaction. Ryan Yoon, a senior analyst at Tiger Research, described the preferred stock’s fall below par as a “structural crack” in MicroStrategy’s leverage-heavy Bitcoin strategy. Crypto economist Alex Krüger criticized the timing and sequence of purchases and the small public sale, calling the firm “cornered” and writing that larger, earlier sales would have been less disruptive.

Other market commentators characterized the actions as balance-sheet management that collided with sensitive market conditions. Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, described the financing choices as sound from a capital-management perspective but said the timing increased market sensitivity and raised the cost of preferred funding. Paul Howard, director at market maker Wincent, noted the events may reduce MicroStrategy’s dominance among institutional Bitcoin vehicles without necessarily signaling a broader, long-term market decline.

Traders and prediction markets showed increased bearish sentiment after the sale, with some placing higher odds on Bitcoin reaching $55,000. Analysts say options for MicroStrategy to replenish cash include targeted equity raises for its common stock, adjustments to preferred-stock dividend terms or changes in payout frequency. Investors are watching how the company addresses ongoing dividend demands and manages its large Bitcoin treasury amid those funding pressures.