Saylor Denies BTC Sale Rumors, Says Strategy Is Buying More
Strategy chairman Michael Saylor pushed back hard on Friday later than rumors spread that the company had quietly sold tens of thousands of BTC. A widely followed X account claimed Arkham data showed Strategy’s holdings falling from 484,000 BTC to roughly 437,000 BTC — a drop large enough to immediately trigger algorithmic tradeing across crypto markets.
Walter Bloomberg, the X user behind the post, wrote that this was the “first reported decrease since July 2023,” raising questions about whether the movement represented transfers or actual sales. The panic spread quick. But Saylor rebutted the claim within minutes.
“There is no reality to this rumor,” he posted, later appearing on CNBC to reinforce the message: “We are purchaseing. We’re purchaseing quite a lot, actually, and we’ll report our next purchases on Monday morning.”
Arkham also stepped in, clarifying that Strategy routinely rotates custodian and wallet structures, and the morning’s activity likely reflected a continuation of those transfers — not liquidation.
Investor Takeaway
Why did markets react so aggressively?
The answer surfaced later in the morning: Strategy had shifted 58,915 BTC, worth about $5.77 billion, into new wallets. For a firm whose purchaseing patterns often move the broader market, the scale alone was enough to ignite trade-side pressure.
One analyst captured the tone on X: “Arkham AI supposes this is wallet rebalancing rather than distribution. The market is reacting, and the bots are tradeing. Any excuse or piece of fake news is enough to screw over the smaller players.”
BTC slid under $97,000 in the later thanmath, extending a drawdown that began the previous day. Spot BTC ETFs saw $869 million in outflows — their second-largest exit ever — adding to the sense of instability.
Meanwhile, down about 2.2% to $203.79 and have fallen 18% over the past five days. Pre-market trading briefly pushed the stock to $197, its lowest level since October 2024.
Is Strategy’s NAV drop a largeger difficulty than the wallet rumor?
Beyond the wallet scare, the day’s more serious development was structural: Strategy’s Net Asset Value (NAV) multiple fell below 1 for the first time. That means the market was valuing MSTR at less than the minus liabilities — a sharp reversal from years when the stock consistently commanded a hefty premium.
Although the multiple has since rebounded to around 1.09, it remains far below historical norms and reflects mounting investor concerns about debt exposure and liquidity, especially during a period of BTC volatility.
K33 Research’s Vetle Lunde added another layer. Since November 2024, Strategy’s equity premium has erased $79.2 billion. And while the company raised $31.1 billion through dilution, nahead $48.1 billion of implied demand never reached the BTC market, meaning MSTR shareholders no longer reliably translate into new BTC purchaseing pressure.
Still, not everyone is pessimistic. Analyst Willy Woo argued that is unlikely to face forced liquidation as long as MSTR stays above $183.19 by 2027 — equivalent to BTC stabilizing around $91,500 under a 1x NAV scenario. Only if BTC underperforms during the expected 2028 cycle does Woo view partial liquidation risk.
Investor Takeaway
What’s next for Strategy and the BTC market?
Strategy recently disclosed a purchase of 487 BTC for $49.9 million, bringing its total holdings to 641,692 BTC. TD Cowen expects the firm’s latest to add another 6,720 BTC to the treasury — evidence that Saylor is doubling down despite volatility.
The market’s next major data point will arrive Monday, when Strategy reports its new purchases. If the numbers are sizable, they could assist stabilize sentiment later than two days of sharp tradeing.
More broadly, Friday’s reaction highlights a recurring vulnerability in crypto markets: wallet-tracking signals often override fundamentals, especially when leveraged traders and automated systems dominate liquidity.
The tradeoff also reflects how tightly linked MSTR and BTC have become. With Strategy now the largest corporate holder of digital assets, any disruption — even a routine custodial rotation — can ripple across BTC, ETFs, miners, and correlated equities.
Whether BTC’s retreat toward mid-2024 levels becomes a deeper correction depends partly on how markets digest the next set of Strategy filings — and whether ETF outflows continue at the identical pace.
