Summary
- Strategy generated $263.5 million from selling 2,732,318 MSTR shares between July 13-19, increasing its USD Reserve to $3.225 billion while leaving its Bitcoin holdings untouched.
- For the second week in a row, the company opted for stock sales instead of liquidating Bitcoin, amassing a total of $675 million in cash over the past two weeks through its equity program.
- Peter Schiff criticized the strategy, claiming it unnecessarily disadvantages common shareholders, suggesting that the firm may fear that a large Bitcoin sale could negatively impact the market price.
Last week, Strategy bolstered its cash reserves by $225 million without selling any Bitcoin.
As detailed in the company's recent SEC filing, the Bitcoin treasury firm sold 2,732,318 shares of MSTR stock from July 13 to July 19, yielding $263.5 million through its at-the-market offering program. This method allows companies to sell shares gradually on the open market without the need for a traditional underwriting arrangement. This mirrors the firm's actions from the previous week, when it raised $466.7 million by issuing common stock.
The funds raised have been allocated to what Strategy refers to as its USD Reserve, a dedicated fund specifically designed to manage dividend payments and pay off debts. As of July 19, this reserve totals $3.225 billion, as per the filing.
Preferred shareholders are at the forefront of these payments—those who have purchased specialized dividend-paying securities such as STRC (Stretch), STRK (Strike), STRF (Strife), or STRD (Stride). These investors prioritize income through regular dividends instead of focusing on stock price appreciation and receive payments before common shareholders of MSTR stock, who only get what remains.
Michael Saylor confirmed the recent developments in a tweet, stating that Strategy had "increased its USD Reserve by $225 million" and that the firm maintains its complete Bitcoin stack of 843,775 BTC, which represents approximately 4% of Bitcoin's total supply of 21 million coins.
Strategy has increased its USD Reserve by $225 million. As of 7/19/2026, we hodl ₿843,775 in our BTC Reserve and $3.2 billion in our USD Reserve. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/sci7bZHzsy
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 20, 2026
As the largest Bitcoin treasury firm globally, Strategy typically refrains from selling its BTC assets. Data from Bitbo's Bitcoin treasuries tracker shows that the company has only reduced its holdings on six occasions since 2020, three of which occurred in 2026 alone.
The latest instance involved the sale of 3,588 BTC for around $216 million between late June and early July, executed under a formal capital framework approved by the board in late June, allowing for the sale of up to $1.25 billion in BTC to bolster its reserves.
This week, Strategy's Bitcoin holdings remained unchanged. The company opted to issue new MSTR shares instead, which dilutes the existing common stockholders' equity (each newly issued share slightly reduces the ownership stake of current shareholders), in order to safeguard the preferred shareholders.
Peter Schiff, a well-known advocate for gold and a long-time critic of Bitcoin, expressed his views on Twitter, stating that Strategy was "needlessly sacrificing common shareholders to protect preferred shareholders without selling Bitcoin." He speculated that the firm might be hesitant to sell BTC due to concerns about the market's ability to handle a large liquidation without causing a price drop, a point that could indeed hold merit given the size of the company's BTC treasury.
Another week of needlessly sacrificing common shareholders to protect preferred shareholders without selling Bitcoin. You must be scared that there's not enough demand for Bitcoin to absorb your sales; otherwise, there is no excuse for purposely creating a negative Bitcoin yield.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) July 20, 2026
Schiff has been predicting a downturn for Bitcoin for over a decade; however, the structural issue he highlights—that common shareholders are bearing the costs associated with maintaining preferred shareholders—is one that has been noted by other analysts as well.
The scrutiny surrounding these developments is significant: Strategy is not just any company. Its weekly updates on cash reserves serve as a critical indicator for the cryptocurrency market. Typically, when it makes purchases, Bitcoin's price tends to rise; conversely, when it sells or halts buying, market analysts pay close attention.
Strategy's holdings of 843,775 BTC were purchased at an average price of $75,476 per coin, resulting in an unrealized loss of approximately $9.6 billion at current market prices. This loss remains a paper loss, as no cash is lost until the coins are sold. The USD Reserve has increased by $675 million within two weeks solely from share sales.
This year, Michael Saylor indicated that his company “would probably buy all the Bitcoin produced by miners until 2140,” which amounts to around one million coins. However, users of Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, doubt that he can fulfill this promise—at least not by 2027.