Strategy's Bitcoin Roundtrip Cost $100.2M in Lost Gains

Strategy sold 6,948 bitcoin between May and August at an average price of $62,150. It has since bought back 5,553 of those coins at an average of $80,207. The difference means the company spent $445.4 million to replace assets it had sold for $345.1 million, effectively forgoing a $100.2 million investment gain.

The decision to sell was framed by leadership as a communication tool rather than a liquidity necessity. On a May 5 analyst call, Michael Saylor stated the company would sell bitcoin “just to inoculate the market.” Saylor later told Fortune, “the skeptics and the short-sellers don’t recognize that we’re just selling a BTC derivative, and we have the option to sell the BTC.” CEO Phong Le defended the move as “the right trade at the time to sell BTC,” adding, “It’s a two-way strategy.”

The repurchase was uneven and came at a premium. During the week ending August 30, Strategy bought 4,603 coins at $80,318 each for $369.7 million, its first purchase in 10 weeks. Last week, it repurchased another 950 BTC at $79,670 apiece. The replacement is incomplete: Strategy holds 846,000 BTC today, down from 847,363 on June 21, leaving 1,363 coins still missing from the count.

Strategy paid $100 million more than its original cost basis to reacquire bitcoin, reversing a position where sec.gov noted that as of June 30, 2026, the cost basis of held bitcoin exceeded fair value. According to Protos, the company now holds 846,000 BTC, down from 847,363 on June 21, as its first purchase in 10 weeks funded by newly issued stock diluted common shareholders. However, Protos reported that official SEC filings claimed sale proceeds funded dividends, even though the company held sufficient cash to cover those payouts without selling assets. The Federal Reserve's next rate decision is scheduled for October 28, 2026, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the next CPI figure on October 14, 2026.