Strategy’s shift to a capital management strategy that includes possible bitcoin sales is drawing criticism that its communication with the market is creating confusion over short-term bitcoin moves.

On July 12, blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that Standard Chartered said Michael Saylor needs to explain the company’s new strategy more clearly to investors.

The key point is that Strategy has stepped back from its long-held stance that it would "never sell bitcoin". The company recently outlined a structure that would allow it to sell bitcoin if needed to secure dividend funds for holders of its STRC preferred shares and to strengthen liquid assets. SEC filings show Strategy sold $216 million worth of bitcoin earlier this month, cutting its total holdings to 843,775.

On July 13, Saylor posted on social media, "Orange dots show only part of the story," alongside a SaylorTracker chart. The market has typically interpreted such posts as a signal ahead of an announcement of additional bitcoin purchases the next day. This time, with the company’s fund management approach changing, it was highlighted that the same signal is hard to read with the same meaning as in the past.

Geoff Kendrick (제프 켄드릭), head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said Strategy needs to clearly convey to the market that its new strategy is a structure in which STRC is backed by bitcoin to ease concerns about large-scale selling. If such signalling works, it could support the STRC price and reduce the need for actual bitcoin sales, he said.

Strategy earlier unveiled its capital framework, allowing bitcoin sales to be used to fund dividends, and raised the annual dividend rate on its STRC preferred shares to 12 percent. It also said its dollar reserves increased to $2.55 billion. That means it has begun moving toward linking bitcoin not merely as a held asset but to fundraising and dividend structures.

Kendrick said Strategy’s previous approach instead limited how the company could use what he described as the industry’s largest digital asset inventory. "The problem is that the approach of never selling bitcoin limits what MSTR’s bitcoin holdings can do," he said, adding that the company has begun changing its communications strategy on this point in recent months. Strategy has sold bitcoin twice and recently introduced a bitcoin monetisation programme.

Investors have yet to get comfortable with the shift. STRC preferred shares were designed to maintain a level around $100 per share, but fell last month to their lowest level since launch. MSTR common shares have fallen more than 70 percent since July 2025, closing at $94.64 on July 11. That is a steep drop from a 52-week high of $457.22.

Earnings pressure also remains. Strategy is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 30, and the market estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance is $4.28 per share. Fintel data show the company has missed market expectations in 6 of the past 8 quarters, including a 33.76 percent miss in the first quarter of 2026.

Standard Chartered said Strategy’s market signalling could improve soon and is maintaining its year-end bitcoin price forecast of $100,000. The key focus going forward is how Strategy explains its new capital strategy that reveals the possibility of bitcoin sales, and how much it can reassure STRC and MSTR investors in the process.

Orange dots tell only part of the story. pic.twitter.com/HFZd2z7fus