Grayscale has referred to the recent Bitcoin sale by Strategy as a "stress test" for its financial model. The small transaction aimed at "unloading" reserves triggered a negative market reaction and raised questions about the aggressive accumulation strategy.
On June 1, the firm sold 32 BTC and also liquidated its own shares worth $128 million. Following this, the price of the leading cryptocurrency dropped by 16%, despite the sale being minor compared to the company's total reserve of 843,706 BTC.
Grayscale's Director of Research, Zach Pandl, noted that by June 5, the company's stock (MSTR) had fallen by 12.8%, hitting a two-month low of $126.
Separately, Grayscale pointed out the decline of STRC with a floating rate. The security was intended to trade around $100 with an 11.5% dividend, but is currently trading at about $95. If Strategy raises the dividend to close the discount, the company's cash obligations will increase, potentially leading to further sales of digital gold, thereby intensifying market pressure.
Source: Grayscale.Grayscale believes that at the current levels of STRC and MSTR, Strategy's ability to continue aggressively accumulating Bitcoin is limited. Pandl added that in the long term, a broader distribution of Bitcoin across diversified corporate balances is more beneficial for the ecosystem than concentration among companies increasing their positions through debt.
Augustin Fan, a partner at SignalPlus, commented to Cointelegraph that it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to maintain a bullish outlook amid the STRC discount.
Meanwhile, CoinEx's chief analyst, Jeff Ko, believes that shifting to a more flexible portfolio management approach will help Strategy manage risks more effectively, rather than sticking to an accumulation strategy in all market conditions.
It’s worth noting that in May, Strategy repurchased its own convertible bonds maturing in 2029 for $1.5 billion. The transaction was completed at a discount of about 8% to par value.