New York, June 4, 2026, 08:04 (EDT)
Bitcoin slipped under $63,000 on Thursday. A minor sale by Strategy Inc. added to selling in a market hit by outflows and less demand for crypto risk. Bitcoin was changing hands around $62,464, off roughly 6.7% for the day. Shares of Strategy dropped about 7% in early U.S. trading.
Strategy’s latest sale wasn’t big in size, but it sent a message. The firm has had a reputation among crypto traders as a steady bitcoin accumulator, so even a small sale rattled a market already nervous about support giving way.
Bitcoin is diverging from tech stocks that used to boost it. The Nasdaq 100 closed at a record Tuesday, but bitcoin is still trading about 48% under its 2023 high and dropped below $70,000 this week, its first time under that mark since April, according to Bloomberg and Forbes.
Strategy sold 32 bitcoin from May 26 to May 31, according to a filing. The sale brought in $2.5 million at an average net price of $77,135. The company plans to use the money to fund preferred stock distributions. As of May 31, Strategy was still holding 843,706 bitcoin, with an average purchase price of $75,699.
The company said it put up a $900 million reserve for preferred dividends and debt interest. That was supposed to show the sale was about cash management, not backing off bitcoin. The market didn’t see it that way.
Michael Saylor, executive chairman at Strategy, turned to the preferred-stock side, saying the firm aimed to make STRC “the best credit instrument in the world,” according to CoinDesk. That didn’t do much to tamp down the persistent “never sell” talk about Strategy’s bitcoin stash. CoinDesk
Rajiv Sawhney, who runs international portfolio management at Wave Digital Assets, said selling 32 coins is tiny compared to Strategy’s much larger holdings. But, in his view, “What it signals to the market matters more.” The Edge Malaysia
Funds are coming under stress. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, which trade on exchanges and hold bitcoin, have seen $2.97 billion in outflows over 10 straight trading days through Friday, CoinDesk said. That marked the longest stretch of outflows yet. Withdrawals reached almost $4 billion over 12 sessions, Bloomberg reported.
Leverage amplified the move. Almost $1.84 billion in leveraged crypto positions got liquidated in a 24-hour stretch, CoinDesk said, after bitcoin slid under $66,000 and ether went below $1,900. Liquidations happen when exchanges shut down borrowed bets due to not enough collateral from traders.
Crypto is facing tougher competition. K Wave Media dropped a plan to invest $500 million in bitcoin, moving the money to AI data centers and graphics chips instead. Crypto miner Bitdeer sold off its bitcoin treasury to fund new AI and high-performance computing projects, Bloomberg said. “A more compelling risk-reward profile” is how Carney Mak, partner at FXHB Asset Management, described AI now. The Edge Malaysia
The sale was small. That could leave space for a more neutral view if ETF outflows ease or bitcoin holds near these prices. The mechanical risk is bigger: dropping Strategy shares can hit leveraged and income funds tied to MSTR, like MSTU, MSTY, and MSTX. Pratik Kala at Apollo Crypto called it “a vicious feedback loop.” The Edge Malaysia
Right now, traders are reacting more to signals than to size. Crypto hasn’t had a clear catalyst lately and is moving with liquidity and macro shifts, Mak said. That puts Strategy’s next funding decision on par with where bitcoin trades next.
