Key facts
- MicroStrategy sold 3.46 million MSTR shares for $333.7 million.
- The company paused Bitcoin sales for the week ending August 16.
- Proceeds were used for STRC repurchases, dividends, and increasing the USD reserve.
- MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings remain at 840,447 BTC.
- The company's total U.S. dollar reserve now stands at $4.8 billion.
MicroStrategy has paused its Bitcoin sales for the week ending August 16, while continuing to build its cash reserves. The company announced it sold 3,458,866 shares of its common stock, generating approximately $333.7 million. These proceeds were allocated towards repurchasing $132.2 million of its STRC preferred stock, paying $52.4 million in dividends, and adding $149.1 million to its U.S. dollar reserve.
As of August 16, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings remained steady at 840,447 BTC. The company's total U.S. dollar reserve now stands at $4.8 billion. This pivot to selling company stock rather than buying Bitcoin comes after a period of aggressive Bitcoin acquisition and a recent downturn in MicroStrategy's stock price, which has fallen about 38% this year.
Executive Chairman Michael Saylor stated that while share buybacks are not a priority, the company could repurchase its own shares if they trade at a significant discount to net asset value. CEO Phong Le defended the practice of selling new MSTR shares, arguing that it can increase the amount of Bitcoin backing each share when MSTR trades above NAV, with proceeds used to buy Bitcoin. The company plans to maintain large cash balances for flexibility in buying Bitcoin, repurchasing shares, or paying down debt.