Strategy’s Bitcoin Shift Draws Standard Chartered Criticism Over Mixed Signals

Nasdaq-listed Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has treated Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset since 2020 and drawn attention for using debt financing to keep expanding its holdings. The outcome of the strategy has major implications for the company’s finances and is also viewed as a barometer of institutional cryptocurrency investment. Markets have therefore closely tracked how Strategy would withstand sharp swings in Bitcoin’s price and the threshold at which its assets could face liquidation risks.

Strategy’s CEO said in July 2026 that the company’s investment and operating strategies would remain extremely secure unless Bitcoin fell to between $8,000 and $10,000. He said the company would continue building its U.S. dollar reserves to maintain ample liquidity. Strategy’s market net asset value premium, or mNAV—the ratio of its equity value to the value of its Bitcoin holdings—currently stands at about 1.02, with investors continuing to closely monitor the security of its assets.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, began adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet in 2020 and continued buying through debt and equity issuance, becoming the world’s largest publicly traded corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has long promoted a “never sell” message. Although the disposal was small, it raises questions about whether Bitcoin reserves can also serve as a liquidity backstop for the company’s preferred-share “digital credit” business.

Strategy sold 32 BTC from May 26 through May 31, 2026, at an average price of $77,135 each, raising about $2.5 million. It disclosed the sale to the SEC on June 1 and said the proceeds were intended to fund preferred-share dividends. As of May 31, the company still held 843,706 BTC acquired for a total of $63.87 billion. Saylor described the sale as a tactical move and said Strategy would remain a net buyer.