Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of Strategy, has drawn a sharp distinction between his personal Bitcoin holdings and those of his company following its latest cryptocurrency sale.
In a post on X, Saylor stated that he has never sold any of his personal Bitcoin, emphasizing, that Strategy is a public company, and not his personal wallet.
He wrote,
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“When I say ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin,’ I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi. Strategy is a public company, not my wallet. Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.”
The clarification came hours after Strategy disclosed that it sold 1,638 bitcoin last week for approximately $104.7 million. The transaction reduced the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 842,138 BTC as of early August.
The sale occurred at an average price of roughly $63,957 per coin, below the firm’s overall cost basis, resulting in a realized loss on those specific coins.
The distinction has sparked discussion within the crypto community. On X, supporters viewed Saylor’s clarification as a transparent separation of personal conviction from the practical responsibilities of running a public company.
Meanwhile, some other users accused Saylor of shifting his message, arguing that his recent comments appeared to contradict years of encouraging investors to hold Bitcoin indefinitely.
One commenter claimed he had previously urged people to “sell their kidneys, not their Bitcoin,” before suggesting his latest remarks implied that selling Bitcoin is acceptable under certain circumstances.
Amongst his critics, Gold advocate Peter Schiff accused Saylor of knowingly creating a misleading impression of permanent corporate HODLing.
Schiff frames the shift as either deliberate deception or a cover-up, intensifying his ongoing criticism of Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury strategy amid the company’s move away from pure accumulation.
Saylor has long been one of Bitcoin’s most vocal corporate advocates. Since 2020, Strategy has pursued an aggressive Bitcoin treasury strategy, converting cash and raising capital to accumulate large amounts of the cryptocurrency.
The company’s “never sell” messaging became closely associated with Saylor’s public persona and inspired many individual holders. However, Strategy’s filings have always noted that it may buy or sell Bitcoin as part of capital management.
In his recent statement, Saylor framed the personal “never sell” advice as guidance offered from one long-term saver to another. He reiterated that the company’s shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged even as it adjusts its balance sheet.
Strategy has paused large-scale purchases for several weeks while increasing its U.S. dollar reserves, reflecting a more flexible approach to treasury operations than the strict personal philosophy Saylor promotes.
Strategy’s Bitcoin strategy has significantly influenced its stock performance and market perception. The company remains one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, and any reduction in its stack draws close attention from investors tracking both the cryptocurrency and equity markets.
Saylor’s personal holdings, previously reported in the range of tens of thousands of bitcoin from earlier disclosures, have not been updated publicly in detail, though he maintains they remain intact.
The episode underscores a broader tension in the institutional Bitcoin space: the difference between ideological long-term holding and the fiduciary requirements of managing a public company’s capital.
Saylor continues to position Bitcoin as a superior store of value while acknowledging that Strategy must operate within the constraints and disclosures of a publicly traded entity.