Strategy sold bitcoin in the $60,000 range and then bought it again in the $80,000 range, but Strategy CEO Phong Le (퐁 르) said both trades were appropriate decisions given the funding environment at the time.

On Sept. 2 (local time), Bloomberg Crypto and other foreign media reported that Le said in an interview that the company’s bitcoin trading is determined by the balance sheet and funding costs rather than bitcoin price forecasts.

Le said, "At the time, selling bitcoin to secure STRC dividends was the right trade," and added, "Now, selling MSTR at a premium to buy bitcoin is the right trade."

From late June to mid-August, Strategy sold 6,916 bitcoin in four transactions at a weighted average of about $62,200. It then bought 4,603 bitcoin for a total of $369.7 million from Aug. 24 to 30, at an average purchase price of $80,318. It raised the funds by selling MSTR shares.

The purchases increased Strategy’s bitcoin holdings to 845,050 bitcoin. The company’s cumulative cost to acquire its bitcoin holdings is about $63.73 billion, and the average purchase price is $75,412.

While it appears on the surface like a trade of selling at a lower price and buying back at a higher price, Le stressed that price itself was not the standard for decision-making. He said, "We do not make decisions based on the bitcoin price itself," and added, "We strengthened the balance sheet while not buying bitcoin over the past two months."

Strategy improved its financial structure while suspending bitcoin purchases for about 10 weeks. According to Le, the company cut net debt from about $7 billion to zero and secured about $7 billion in dollar reserves. Based on the funding environment it secured during that period, it was later able to issue MSTR shares to buy bitcoin.

By contrast, when trading conditions for MSTR shares were unfavorable, it was more advantageous to sell some bitcoin to meet financial obligations, he said. Over the same period, Strategy generated net proceeds of $602.8 million from selling MSTR shares. Of that, it used $369.7 million to buy bitcoin, $151.8 million to repurchase STRC preferred shares and $50.7 million to pay STRC dividends.

Strategy has also shown a shift this year from its previous stance of never selling. While maintaining a net bitcoin buying stance, the company is putting forward a two-way capital management strategy that allows it to sell bitcoin if needed depending on funding conditions.

Le said, "It is a two-way strategy. There are times when it makes sense to sell bitcoin," and added that the amount of bitcoin sold this time was less than 1 percent of total holdings. He said Strategy’s bitcoin holdings rose 25 to 30 percent this year, and explained that a structure that can buy and sell not only bitcoin but also common and preferred shares is a capital management method suited to an operating company.

STRC is a floating-rate perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy. Strategy operates a capital policy that manages STRC to trade in the $99 to $100 range over the long term, and it determines dividend rates and capital allocation by comprehensively considering market conditions, liquidity, bitcoin prices and capital structure.

Ultimately, Strategy’s recent bitcoin trades are closer to a capital management strategy that takes into account funding costs, the balance sheet and the burden of preferred dividends than trades based on a simple price outlook, he said. Strategy remains a net bitcoin buyer, but it says it may buy or sell bitcoin depending not only on market prices but also on the premium on MSTR shares and funding conditions.