USDMichael Saylor Dismisses Bitcoin Sale Rumors as Strategy Faces Debt Pressure and Market Cap Drop Below Holdings Value
False Sale Reports Send Shockwaves Through Market as Strategy’s Bitcoin Debt Surpasses Asset Value
TL;DR:
- A viral false claim that Strategy sold $4.6 billion in Bitcoin sparked wild market swings and prediction-market profits.
- Michael Saylor denied any sale, saying the company continues to buy despite falling crypto prices.
- Strategy’s market cap briefly dropped below the value of its Bitcoin holdings for the first time, highlighting growing leverage risk.
A fabricated report that Michael Saylor’s firm, Strategy — formerly known as MicroStrategy — dumped nearly 47,000 BTC worth about $4.6 billion sent markets into chaos this week, fueling a trading frenzy and deepening scrutiny of the company’s balance-sheet strategy. The rumor began circulating early Thursday after an image purporting to show on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence claimed Strategy had liquidated a massive portion of its Bitcoin treasury. The data turned out to represent internal wallet movements, not sales. Yet by the time the truth surfaced, traders had already made substantial profits from volatility that erupted across both equities and digital assets.
Prediction-market traders on Polymarket reportedly earned around 10× returns after betting on the fake news, as odds that Strategy would sell Bitcoin before January 1, 2026 spiked from 3 percent to nearly 45 percent. MSTR shares, which had already been under pressure amid a broader market correction, fell sharply in pre-market trading to about $193 before recovering above $200 by the open. The crypto price index mirrored the turbulence, with Bitcoin plunging from over $100,000 to below $95,000 within 24 hours as traders reacted to fears that the largest corporate Bitcoin holder might be exiting its position.
Michael Saylor quickly addressed the speculation, reaffirming the company’s long-term stance. “If you’re going to be a Bitcoin investor, you need a four-year time horizon and you need to be prepared to handle the volatility in this market,” he said, rejecting claims of any liquidation. Saylor reiterated that Strategy remains a buyer, not a seller, despite market pressure. The firm’s holdings remain near 640,000 BTC — the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasury — acquired at an average cost of roughly $74,064 per coin, implying unrealized gains of around 38 percent or $18 billion at recent levels.
Despite Saylor’s confidence, Strategy’s financial position has entered a new phase of vulnerability. The company’s total debt load now exceeds the market value of its Bitcoin reserves for the first time, a sign that its highly leveraged model is under strain as crypto prices soften. Bitcoin traded near $95,562 Friday, pushing Strategy’s market capitalization below the net asset value (NAV) of its holdings — a threshold many analysts view as a critical psychological marker for investors treating MSTR as a publicly traded Bitcoin proxy. One market observer summarized the moment starkly: “For the first time ever, MicroStrategy has gone below 1 NAV. Saylor’s BTC holdings are worth less than their total debt.”
The company’s stock fell to $205.38 by the end of the week, down more than 17 percent over five days and 29 percent year-to-date, even as Bitcoin held near flat levels across the coin market cap spectrum. Analysts noted that Strategy’s long-standing premium above its underlying Bitcoin value — once fueled by investor enthusiasm for its aggressive accumulation — has effectively evaporated. “Now, the premium market for MicroStrategy has truly come to an end,” AB Kuai Dong remarked, pointing to waning demand for the firm’s convertible notes and preferred-share offerings used to finance Bitcoin purchases.
The company’s financing cadence has slowed, and some observers questioned whether investors will continue to fund new bond issuances after recent price declines. “After the stock price performs poorly, will anyone still buy the new bond issuances?” Dong asked. “The amount of Bitcoin they add each week has shown a clear trend of decreasing.” Strategy’s leveraged strategy — built on debt issuance and equity dilution to expand its Bitcoin portfolio — has delivered outsize gains during bull markets but exposes the firm to amplified downside if crypto prices slide further.
Saylor remains unshaken. The 59-year-old executive has consistently framed Bitcoin as a multi-decade hedge against inflation and currency debasement, arguing that corporate treasuries will eventually migrate to digital assets as a reserve standard. Yet the recent volatility underscores the fragility of the model. As the crypto price index cools and macro pressures weigh on risk assets, the company once celebrated as the ultimate “Bitcoin-leveraged bet” now stands at a crossroads. Whether Strategy can sustain its buying spree or faces forced retrenchment depends largely on how Bitcoin holds above its average cost basis — and whether markets continue to price faith in Saylor’s conviction over the growing weight of his debt.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
