Saylor: "Never Sell Your Bitcoin" was personal advice, not Strategy policy

Saylor Draws a Line Between Personal Belief and Corporate Action

Michael @saylor has pushed back against critics who accused him of hypocrisy after @Strategy sold a significant portion of its $BTC holdings. In a post on X, he was direct: "When I say 'Never Sell Your Bitcoin,' I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi. Strategy is a public company, not my wallet."

The statement came hours after @Strategy disclosed it had sold Bitcoin for cash. Strategy Inc (MSTR) revealed it sold 1,638 Bitcoin for approximately $104.7 million, reducing its total holdings to 842,138 BTC. The sale was used to fund a preferred dividend bill that hit $400.7 million in Q2.

A Pattern of Sales and a Shifting Capital Strategy

The latest transaction is part of a broader shift in how @Strategy manages its balance sheet. The firm sold 32 BTC at the end of May, which was the first net reduction in Strategy's Bitcoin holdings that was not part of a tax-loss harvesting strategy. Strategy has since paused its Bitcoin acquisitions for five weeks ending July 26, while lifting its USD reserve by $525 million to $3.75 billion.

Saylor argues the flexibility to sell has always been part of the firm's disclosed operating framework. "Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged," he said.

Strategy CEO Phong Le also distanced the company from Saylor's personal credo, saying: "We will sell Bitcoin when it's advantageous to the company. We're not going to sit back and just say, 'We'll never sell the Bitcoin.' We want to be net aggregators of Bitcoin, increasing our total bitcoin, but more importantly, increasing our bitcoin per share."

The broader backdrop is a sharp decline in MSTR stock. The sales have come as Strategy's common stock has plummeted since peaking over $400 per share in July 2025. Shares traded around $94.78 at publication time, and the stock has dropped 40% year to date and 70% over the past 12 months. TD Cowen described the most recent BTC sale as "consistent with management's stated priority of restoring STRC to near-par trading levels."

Sources:
The Block: Michael Saylor says he's never sold his personal Bitcoin after Strategy dumps more BTC
BeInCrypto: Michael Saylor: I Never Sold Bitcoin, MicroStrategy Did
CCN: 5 Times Michael Saylor Claimed Strategy Would Never Sell Bitcoin