MicroStrategy CEO Phong Le defended the company's recent Bitcoin trading activity as strategically sound capital management. Speaking on Bloomberg Crypto on Wednesday, Le discussed the company's sale of 6,916 BTC across four tranches from late June through mid-August at a weighted average of $62,200, followed by the purchase of 4,603 BTC at an average of $80,318 last week.
According to Le, both transactions were driven by balance sheet considerations rather than price predictions. The company sold Bitcoin to fund STRC dividend payments when issuing new shares had become expensive. It subsequently purchased Bitcoin after MSTR began trading at a premium again, which made equity issuance more efficient for acquisitions.
During the two-month interval between the sales and purchases, MicroStrategy increased its assets to $72 billion, built approximately $7 billion in dollar reserves, and reduced net debt from about $7 billion to zero. The company now holds 845,050 BTC worth roughly $65.4 billion.
Le characterized the sale's scale as modest, representing less than 1% of holdings that have grown 25% to 30% throughout the year. He also described MicroStrategy as a two-way capital management company rather than a simple accumulator, noting that the firm manages Bitcoin, equity, and preferred shares as interconnected assets.
The strategy centers on STRC, a variable-rate preferred share that MicroStrategy adjusts to maintain near its $100 stated value. When the preferred slipped below par in June, the company turned to Bitcoin sales to attempt a recovery, though the preferred has not yet returned to its stated value.
