Strategy Inc. CEO Phong Le considerably pushed again Tuesday in opposition to the wave of criticism that adopted the corporate’s first Bitcoin sale since 2022, telling CNBC’s Energy Lunch that the transfer was a deliberate, restricted train designed to sign operational flexibility — not a philosophical reversal.
“We wanted to inoculate the market and we wanted to test our processes,” Le mentioned in what the community described as a first-time interview. “We learned that everything works.”
Between Might 26 and Might 31, Strategy offered 32 Bitcoin for roughly $2.5 million at a median worth of $77,135 per coin — a transaction that, regardless of representing simply 0.004% of the corporate’s whole holdings, set off an outsized market response and reignited debate over whether or not Michael Saylor’s well-known “never sell” doctrine was being deserted.
Le was cautious to border the disposal when it comes to steadiness sheet administration relatively than conviction. He cited three causes for the sale: establishing that Strategy can promote when vital, confirming that inner techniques for executing Bitcoin disposals are totally operational, and creating alternatives to seize tax losses on Bitcoin acquired at decrease price foundation — the corporate has bought BTC at costs starting from $10,000 to $125,000 per coin.
Critically, he mentioned the sale was not pushed by monetary misery. “We did not need to sell our Bitcoin to satisfy our dividends,” Le mentioned. “We’re able to do that through other capital-raising activities.” Proceeds from the sale have been directed towards distributions on the corporate’s STRC perpetual most well-liked inventory.
Le additionally identified that Strategy remained a web purchaser: on steadiness, the corporate bought roughly 1,500 Bitcoin over the identical interval it offered the 32 cash.
Probably the most pointed alternate got here when the host pressed Le on the backlash from buyers who believed Strategy had pledged by no means to liquidate its Bitcoin reserves. Le acknowledged the frustration however was unapologetic.
“We have a set of constituents that we have to be able to answer to,” he mentioned, itemizing widespread stockholders, most well-liked shareholders, debt holders, and Bitcoin holders. “When it makes sense for our common stockholders for us to sell our Bitcoin, we will.”
Le instructed the loudest critics have been retail buyers and “crypto anarchists” ideologically dedicated to everlasting hodling — not the institutional shareholders the corporate interacts with straight.
“Our institutional shareholders that we talked to don’t seem to be unnerved by it,” he mentioned.
This was not Strategy’s first Bitcoin disposal. In December 2022, the corporate offered 704 BTC at $16,776 per coin and repurchased 810 BTC two days later — a tax-loss harvesting maneuver that exploited the shortage of a crypto wash-sale rule.
Jeffrey’s chief market strategist David Zervos, who joined Le on set, requested in regards to the macro image round Bitcoin, noting weak point throughout conventional safe-haven property. Le acknowledged the broader headwinds, citing three macro forces pressuring Bitcoin: uncertainty across the Federal Reserve’s rate of interest path, two ongoing international wars, and a scarcity of regulatory readability from Congress on pending crypto laws.
Nonetheless, Le remained bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term thesis.
“I do think Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation. I think Bitcoin is a hedge against big government,” he mentioned, including that the present surroundings — doubtlessly a cyclical drawdown — mirrors the roughly 75% pullback seen in Might 2022, 4 years in the past.
Bitcoin worth and Strategy shares underneath strain
The market, for now, is much less sanguine. Bitcoin was buying and selling round $61,600 on June 10, 2026 — down greater than 40% from its all-time excessive of $126,198 reached in October 2025. The sell-off deepened after the Strategy announcement coincided with report spot ETF outflows estimated between $2.8 billion and $3.5 billion, triggering $1.8 billion in pressured liquidations in a single day.
MSTR shares have been caught in the identical downdraft, buying and selling close to $117–$127 as of this week — down roughly 67% from their 52-week excessive of $457.
Strategy has since resumed shopping for, buying 1,550 BTC at a median worth of $65,332 between June 1 and June 7 in a transfer analysts characterised as an effort to revive market confidence.
As of late Might, the corporate held 845,256 Bitcoin at a complete price foundation of roughly $63.97 billion.
