Strategy sits out bitcoin for a fifth week, raising cash and selling stock instead of stacking coins

For five weeks running, the company that turned relentless bitcoin accumulation into a corporate identity has bought no bitcoin at all. According to an 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, July 27, Strategy (MSTR) made no bitcoin purchases or sales in the week to July 26, holding its stack at 843,775 BTC. The Block and CoinDesk both reported the filing, and their figures line up on the core numbers.

The last purchase was 520 BTC on June 22, per The Block. Since then, the pattern has inverted: instead of issuing securities to buy bitcoin, Strategy has been selling stock to accumulate dollars. Over the past week it sold roughly 5.4 million shares of common stock for $544.5 million, both outlets reported. (CoinDesk's copy says "5.4 shares," an evident typo for 5.4 million; the dollar figure matches The Block's.)

That cash went toward the balance sheet, not the coin pile. Strategy lifted its USD reserve by $525 million to $3.75 billion as of July 26, up from $3.225 billion a week earlier, according to the filing as reported by The Block. The company said that reserve now covers about 2.1 years of dividend obligations on its preferred stock — a figure CoinDesk attributed specifically to Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. The reserve exists to service dividends on Strategy's preferred shares and interest on its debt.

Strategy also spent $25 million buying back 288,930 shares of its high-yielding STRC preferred stock, under a "digital credit securities" repurchase program it launched in June, per both outlets.

The bitcoin position

The 843,775 BTC is worth roughly $54 billion at current prices. The filing puts the average purchase price at $75,476 per bitcoin and the all-in cost, including fees and expenses, at about $63.69 billion, The Block reported. That stack equals more than 4% of bitcoin's 21-million supply cap — and, at today's prices, sits at a paper loss.

The numbers on that loss depend on which document you read. A bitcoin-tracker chart Saylor himself posted to X on Sunday listed a reserve value of $54.36 billion across the same 843,775 BTC, an average cost of $75,653 per coin, and a position down about 14.84% at the time. The filing's average-cost figure ($75,476) and Saylor's chart ($75,653) differ slightly; both point to a holding underwater by roughly 15%. Bitcoin traded near $64,000–$65,000 over the weekend — CoinDesk cited $65,000.

The share price cut both ways depending on the day. The Block noted MSTR fell 2.1% on Friday; CoinDesk reported MSTR and STRC each up about 2.5% in Monday pre-market trading as bitcoin firmed.

Key facts

• No bitcoin bought or sold in the week to July 26; holdings steady at 843,775 BTC — a fifth straight week without a purchase, per an 8-K filing (The Block, CoinDesk).
• Last bitcoin purchase: 520 BTC on June 22 (The Block).
• ~5.4 million MSTR shares sold for $544.5 million last week (The Block, CoinDesk).
• USD reserve: $3.75 billion, up $525 million from $3.225 billion a week earlier; said to cover ~2.1 years of dividend obligations (The Block; coverage figure attributed to Saylor by CoinDesk).
• $25 million used to repurchase 288,930 STRC preferred shares under a program launched in June (The Block, CoinDesk).
• Average cost per bitcoin: $75,476 (filing, via The Block) or $75,653 (Saylor's own chart); position down ~14.84% as of Sunday (Saylor's X post).
• Holdings equal more than 4% of bitcoin's 21M supply cap; total cost ~$63.69 billion (The Block).
• 197 public companies now run some bitcoin-treasury model; after Strategy, the top holders are Twenty One (43,514 BTC), Metaplanet (43,000 BTC), MARA (36,303 BTC), and Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (30,021 BTC), per Bitcoin Treasuries data (The Block).

The real-world read

Strip away the branding and this is a bitcoin company that has stopped buying bitcoin and started hoarding cash — funded by selling its own stock. That is close to the inverse of the leveraged-accumulation thesis Strategy is built on. Selling equity to hold dollars, then using those dollars to service dividends and buy back preferred shares, is liability management, not conviction buying.

The tell is the "2.1 years of dividend coverage" line. It reads as reassurance, but it's also an admission: Strategy owes ongoing cash on its preferred stock and debt, bitcoin produces none of that cash, and the company now needs a multibillion-dollar buffer to keep the payments flowing. CoinDesk attributes that coverage framing to Saylor himself — it is the company's own gloss, not an independent assessment, and worth reading as such.

Meanwhile the marketing engine is still running ahead of the behavior. On Sunday, Saylor posted his acquisition-tracker chart with the caption "We're gonna need another color" — the kind of tease that, as The Block notes, has "typically preceded" a purchase announcement the next day. The next day brought a filing showing no purchase. The chart he shared also quietly documents the awkward part: the position is down nearly 15%, bought at an average above $75,000 against a coin now near $64,000.

Even the friendly analysts hedge. JPMorgan called the larger cash reserves and firmer bitcoin-futures demand "encouraging signs," while noting spot-ETF flows remain volatile. CryptoQuant said the cash rebuild addresses Strategy's liquidity concerns — then added that the firm still lacks "a systematic framework for timing bitcoin purchases and a disciplined plan for selling bitcoin during the next bull market." That is a polite way of saying the accumulation so far has been improvised.

One more piece of context deserves a skeptic's eye: President and CEO Phong Le told Bloomberg TV that Strategy would only start weighing risks tied to its debt if bitcoin fell to around $8,000–$10,000, and that the balance sheet feels "very secure." Framing the danger zone as an ~85% further drop is reassurance by way of an extreme; it sidesteps the nearer-term reality that the core holding is already underwater and the buying has stopped.

Separately, Saylor published a 110-point essay, "110 Reasons BIP 110 Is a Bad Idea," against a proposed soft fork to restrict arbitrary data on Bitcoin. For scale: the proposal registered 0% miner support on its public monitor as of July 26, ahead of a mandatory signaling window opening in early August. It is a detailed broadside against something that, for now, has no traction.

Opinion, and whose

• Strategy (via Saylor): the $3.75 billion reserve covers about 2.1 years of dividend obligations (CoinDesk).
• Phong Le, President and CEO (Bloomberg TV): Strategy intends to remain a long-term bitcoin buyer; would only consider debt-related risk if bitcoin fell to ~$8,000–$10,000; currently feels "very secure" about the balance sheet (The Block).
• JPMorgan analysts: the larger cash reserves and improving institutional demand in bitcoin futures are "encouraging signs" for the bitcoin outlook, despite volatile spot-ETF flows (The Block).
• CryptoQuant analysts: the capital-management approach addresses liquidity concerns, but Strategy still needs a systematic framework for timing purchases and a disciplined selling plan for the next bull market (The Block).

Sources

• The Block — Naga Avan-Nomayo, July 27, 2026. Primary reporting on the 8-K filing: bitcoin holdings, USD reserve, share sales, STRC buyback, average cost, Saylor's chart and BIP-110 essay, Phong Le's Bloomberg TV remarks, and analyst comments. Reputable secondary source; disclosed that Foresight Ventures is a majority investor. Not sponsored.
• CoinDesk — July 27, 2026. Corroborating reporting on the same filing: $3.75 billion reserve, $544.5 million raised, STRC repurchase, unchanged bitcoin holdings, pre-market share moves, weekend bitcoin price; attributes the 2.1-year coverage figure to Saylor. Reputable secondary source. Not sponsored.
• Primary source referenced by both: Strategy's 8-K filing with the SEC, dated Monday, July 27, 2026. Saylor's X posts (the tracker chart and the BIP-110 essay) and Phong Le's Bloomberg TV interview are cited as reported by The Block.

This is news reporting, not financial advice; do your own research before making any investment decision.