Strategy sells Bitcoin, issues new shares and buys back its own preferred stock. In the week to August 2, 2026, the Bitcoin company parted with 1,638 BTC for around USD 104.73 million.
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is a listed software company. Under Michael Saylor, the firm built the largest Bitcoin treasury in the public markets from 2020 onward. It financed those purchases through the capital markets at first, not out of operations. In late June 2026, however, the group announced an overhaul of that model: the Digital Credit Capital Framework. For the first time, it systematically allows management to sell Bitcoin, repurchase its own securities and steer liquidity. After the latest sale, Strategy still holds 842,138 BTC worth around USD 52.6 billion. That keeps the group the largest listed Bitcoin holder, although MSTR stock has lost roughly 75% in twelve months.
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Strategy sells Bitcoin below its own cost basis
Strategy achieved an average of USD 63,957 per unit for the 1,638 Bitcoin it sold. For about four weeks before that, the company had sold no Bitcoin at all. That average sits close to the market level of around USD 62,500, where Bitcoin fell back over the weekend. The group disclosed the transactions in an 8-K filing with the SEC. An 8-K reports material events to the regulator outside the quarterly cycle.
Still, the amount stays small measured against the total position. The tranche sold equals roughly 0.2% of holdings. Strategy originally paid around USD 63.5 billion for the remaining stack, an average of USD 75,419 per Bitcoin. The market value of around USD 52.6 billion therefore sits nearly USD 11 billion below that. That amounts to a book loss of a good 17% on the whole position. Every sale below cost consequently realizes part of that loss.
In the new framework, Bitcoin's liquidity function counts, not just its role as a reserve. Moreover, the proceeds raise freely available funds and give management room for buybacks. Until mid-2026, sales of this size stayed the exception. Since late June, they belong to the regular toolkit. The stack keeps shrinking in small steps.
STRC buyback at a discount to par
Alongside the Bitcoin sale, Strategy tapped the equity market. First the company placed 3.01 million new MSTR common shares through its at-the-market program. That brought in around USD 290.6 million. Such a program lets a company issue shares continuously at market prices instead of in one placement. The issuance dilutes existing shareholders but hands the group funds it can use at once. Part of the proceeds went into the USD reserve cushion, which rose USD 250 million to USD 4 billion. The rest went into buying back the company's own preferred shares.
In late July, Strategy had announced the first STRC buybacks and an ongoing repurchase policy. Since then, the group has bought back 912,143 STRC securities for around USD 81.2 million. That works out at an average of USD 89.02 per share. The discount to the par value of USD 100 comes to roughly 11%. Preferred shares pay a fixed dividend and rank ahead of common stock in insolvency, but carry no voting rights. Originally, STRC was meant to trade near its par value. When the paper trades below that, each buyback retires future dividend obligations below nominal value. Management therefore sees this as the more attractive use of capital right now.
The dividend burden is considerable. The group had raised the annual rate on the STRC securities to 12% as of July 1, 2026. Each buyback thus shrinks the circle of entitled holders. Nevertheless, the company plans to keep that rate for now, until the stock trades consistently near par. Issuance and buyback follow the same logic. Strategy raises capital where the market offers it and retires it where its own securities trade below value.
Digital Credit Capital Framework as a strategic shift
The board created the framework in late June 2026. It authorizes up to USD 1 billion each for two buyback tracks: preferred shares and MSTR common stock. The preferred securities go by the name Digital Credit Securities. In total, up to USD 2 billion is available, with no fixed expiry date. In addition, Strategy set up a program to monetize its Bitcoin holdings.
CEO Phong Le described the overhaul as a change in how the group sees itself. Instead of raising capital first and foremost, Strategy now steers its capital structure through issuance and buybacks. The mix shifts depending on market conditions. As a result, buybacks and issuance run in parallel rather than in sequence. The pure accumulation model loses its exclusivity. At the same time, Bitcoin serves as a manageable variable alongside equity and debt. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor grounds the framework in balance sheet quality.
"The framework is intended to strengthen Strategy's credit profile, while Bitcoin remains the primary treasury reserve." - Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, Strategy
How serious management is about this showed quickly. In late June and early July 2026, Strategy sold Bitcoin worth around USD 216 million. It was the largest known single sale since the accumulation strategy began in 2020, and only the third ever. Until then, the holdings counted as untouchable. Whether it would stay a one-off remained open. The renewed sale in early August says otherwise.
MSTR stock under pressure despite the largest Bitcoin stack
So far the equity market has not rewarded the overhaul. MSTR traded around 1% to 2% lower before the open after the filing disclosed the week's activity. Most recently the stock stood at around USD 93. Over twelve months, the decline adds up to roughly 75%. The 52-week range shows the amplitude.
In August 2025 the stock peaked at USD 414.36. It then fell to USD 81.81 by the end of June 2026. From that high to the low, the stock lost around 80% of its value. Less than eleven months lie between the two points. The current price sits around 14% above that low. Strategy still remains the largest corporate holder of the token.
The pressure on the stock coincides with a weak quarter. For the second quarter of 2026, Strategy reported a net loss of USD 8.22 billion. Behind that number sits fair value accounting for digital assets. This method carries price declines straight into the income statement. The loss is consequently a book effect with no cash impact. In the year-earlier quarter, however, the same mechanism produced a profit of USD 10.02 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin holdings had climbed 11% in the quarter to a peak of 846,000 BTC. The selling program only started later.
