Strategy CEO Phong Le has highlighted scenarios in which the company would offload some of its Bitcoin holdings. This explanation follows the treasury firm’s chairman, Michael Saylor, hinting at the possibility of strategically selling portions of its BTC over the past week.
Why Strategy Could Shed Some Of Its Bitcoin Holdings
In an interview with CNBC, Le analyzed the conditions under which Strategy could sell some of its Bitcoin holdings. While this move would be in stark contrast to the firm’s “Never Sell” strategy, the CEO believes a change in philosophy might be necessary given current market conditions.
The CEO mentioned that the company could sell some of its BTC to finance the payment of the 11.5% dividend yield on its Perpetual Preferred Stock (STRC). Le said that Strategy would sell a portion of its BTC to cover the dividend if it increases shareholder value (defined as a rise in the “Bitcoin per share”).
Le said in the interview:
I believe in math over ideology, and at the point where selling Bitcoin versus selling equity to pay a dividend is better for our Bitcoin per share, and for our common shareholders, we will do it.
Strategy’s CEO further explained that BTC sales are accretive to shareholder value when the company’s book value is below market value, or vice versa. Le also mentioned the option to sell Bitcoin to capture deferred tax gains (and losses, as in its current case).
As of press time, Strategy is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with about 818,334 BTC (approximately 4% of the cryptocurrency’s supply) on its books. With more than $1.5 billion in annual dividend obligations, Le suggested that its $65 billion BTC holdings are more than enough to cover these payments.
How Could Strategy’s Sales Affect Bitcoin Price?
As expected, the idea that the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin would sell its holdings to meet obligations has not been well received. However, the Strategy CEO believes that the premier cryptocurrency is liquid enough to withstand any major sales by his firm.
In Le’s own words, selling in the open market to fund a $1.5 billion dividend payment is a drop in the ocean of Bitcoin’s daily trading volume of over $60 billion. While admitting that Strategy is a significant player in the market, Le does not believe his firm’s activity has any major influence on price (considering how liquid the market is).
As of this writing, BTC is valued at around $80,840, reflecting a 0.5% price increase in the past 24 hours.
