Strategy CEO says 'never sell' was just a marketing slogan

Strategy CEO says 'never sell' was just a marketing slogan

Sujal Jethwani

Tue, September 8, 2026 at 8:41 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• MSTR -3.43%
• BTC-USD -0.68%

Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) has slowed the Bitcoin accumulation strategy that made it the world's largest corporate holder of the asset, while also showing that its holdings are no longer completely off-limits.

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is a software company that has transformed itself into a Bitcoin treasury company. Since 2020, it has raised capital through stock, debt and preferred securities to buy Bitcoin, at times making purchases on an almost weekly basis.

The cryptocurrency has since become the centerpiece of its balance sheet and capital strategy.

The company, however, did not buy or sell any Bitcoin between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, according to a Sept. 8 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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The pause followed another multiweek buying drought before its latest purchase. Strategy held 845,050 BTC at the end of the period, acquired for about $63.73 billion at an average price of $75,412 per coin.

The pause follows several Bitcoin sales earlier this year.

Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for about $216 million between June 29 and July 5, after making a smaller sale in late May.

That represented a notable shift for a company whose executive chairman, Michael Saylor, has spent years promoting a simple message around Bitcoin: do not sell.

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Strategy CEO Phong Le now says that message was never intended to be an absolute corporate rule.

'Never sell' was a marketing notion

Speaking on The Sujal Show interview published Sept. 2, Le described the idea of never selling Bitcoin as a "good marketing notion."

"If you're going to, as an individual, hold Bitcoin for eternity or hold it for your children or hold it for retirement, it makes sense not to sell your Bitcoin."

Le said the calculation is different for Strategy because Bitcoin also sits behind a capital structure that includes debt and preferred stock.

"For that asset to be credible, especially for the more senior ones, you have to be willing to sell it."

He added that Strategy received that feedback from investors and said the company was never going to operate on the assumption that its Bitcoin could never be sold.

Le also pushed back against criticism that Strategy had been buying Bitcoin at higher prices and later selling at lower ones, arguing that each transaction should instead be judged relative to the value at which the company raises capital.

"Every trade we make is evaluated on a trade by trade basis."

Strategy's latest filing shows that its capital priorities now extend beyond Bitcoin accumulation. The company held a $5.10 billion USD reserve and $1.44 billion in additional cash as of Sept. 7, while also expanding its preferred-stock repurchase program to $2 billion.

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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Sep 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.