A common narrative circulating in the crypto community suggests that Strategy, the company founded by Michael Saylor, will be forced to sell its bitcoin if the price drops further. This fear has been amplified by rumors of a potential delisting of Strategy’s stock from the MSCI equity index, with a decision due on January 15, 2026.
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, is looking to debunk this myth of a forced sale once and for all.
‘Strategy Doesn’t Need to Sell Any Bitcoin at All’ #
Even if Strategy’s stock price were to plummet significantly, the company would not need to sell any of its bitcoin until at least 2027, Matt Hougan explains in an article on the Bitwise website.
Strategy holds $1.4 billion in cash and has no debt obligations that need to be paid off before 2027. Furthermore, the current price of bitcoin is still above the average purchase price of the coins in its treasury.
For these reasons, Hougan asserts that Strategy will not be forced to sell bitcoin and that anyone claiming otherwise is simply mistaken.
Even if the market value of all MSTR (Strategy) shares were to drop below the intrinsic value of the company’s assets, there would still be no need to sell for a considerable time.
Spreading Fear and Panic #
There is significant fear in the market that Strategy will be forced to liquidate its entire bitcoin holdings. This has led to the spread of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) to create panic. According to Hougan, if Strategy were forced to sell all its bitcoin, it would be extremely detrimental to the market. The amount Strategy holds is equivalent to two years of inflows into bitcoin ETFs. However, he sees no reason for this to happen, at least not until 2027.
These fears were partly fueled by Phong Le, a Strategy executive, who stated that as a last resort, his company might have to sell a portion of its bitcoin if the market value of Strategy fell below the value of its bitcoin holdings.
Le explained that if this scenario were to occur and financing options dried up, it would be justified to sell some bitcoin to protect the bitcoin yield per share. In response, Hougan was clear on X: Strategy is not going to sell its bitcoin.
‘Relax and Focus on the Green Numbers’ #
Hougan calls for calm. The price of bitcoin is currently 24% higher than Strategy’s average purchase price. The company has annual obligations of $800 million and $1.4 billion in cash, which is enough to cover them for more than a year and a half.
If Strategy is removed from the MSCI index, historical precedent suggests it will have little impact on its stock price. When MSTR was added to the NASDAQ 100 last year, funds tracking the index had to buy $2.1 billion worth of the stock. The price barely moved—and the reverse is likely to have a similarly negligible effect.