Michael Saylor: ‘I Never Said the Company (Strategy) Wouldn’t Sell Its Bitcoin’

Bitcoin advocate and Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor has responded to the Bitcoin community over Strategy’s recent sale of 32 BTC. Saylor said he never claimed that Strategy wouldn’t sell its Bitcoin. Indeed, he said that he has always advised individual investors not to sell their Bitcoin.

Despite the recent sell-off, Strategy continues to accumulate Bitcoin and now holds 845,256 BTC.

The 32 BTC Sale That Started It

Speaking at the Prague Bitcoin Conference, Michael Saylor addressed Strategy’s recent sale of 32 BTC, worth around $2.5 million. 

Responding to the criticism, Saylor said,

“A troll on Twitter said, ‘You said never sell your Bitcoin.’ Fine, I’ll destroy a hundred billion dollar company so I don’t sell my Bitcoin? 

“I said to you never sell your Bitcoin, I never said that the company wouldn’t sell its Bitcoin.”

Saylor explained that there is a clear difference between personal investment beliefs and corporate treasury decisions. 

His comments were intended to clarify that he personally supports holding Bitcoin for the long term. Perhaps a public company may sometimes need to sell a small portion of its holdings for business or operational reasons.

The community interpreted his comments as a warning that Strategy could sell some of its Bitcoin holdings whenever the company needs to raise capital or manage its treasury operations.

Strategy Says Sale Was Misunderstood

Strategy CEO Phong Le previously downplayed the transaction, saying the sale was largely a test of internal operational processes and had been blown out of proportion.

The explanation, however, failed to convince some Bitcoin supporters.

Critics argued that telling investors to hold Bitcoin indefinitely while leaving room for the company to sell when necessary creates a double standard.

As one community member put it, Saylor has always kept “an exit ramp” available for Strategy even while promoting a long-term holding strategy for investors.

Strategy Continue To Hold Bitcoin

Despite the backlash, Strategy’s broader Bitcoin strategy remains unchanged.

In fact, days after the controversy, the company announced the purchase of another 1,550 BTC for approximately $101 million. The acquisition was made between June 1 and June 7 at an average price of $65,332 per Bitcoin.

That purchase increased Strategy’s holdings to 845,256 BTC, further cementing its position as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

With an average acquisition cost of $75,699 per BTC and Bitcoin trading near $62,560, the company is sitting on roughly $11 billion in unrealized losses.