Grayscale Urges Strategy to Sell $3B in Bitcoin
Grayscale's head of research wants Strategy to do something the company has spent years insisting it would never do: sell a meaningful chunk of its Bitcoin.
It's a hope, not an announcement. Strategy hasn't said it will.
What Pandl Actually Said
Zach Pandl, Grayscale's head of research, laid out his case in a research note published June 4, arguing Strategy should sell at least $3 billion worth of Bitcoin to cover most of its cash obligations over the next two years, according to CoinDesk's reporting on the note.
In a follow-up X post on Saturday, Pandl reiterated the recommendation directly, arguing the move could help restore market confidence in Strategy's capital structure.
Selling $3 billion would represent roughly 5-6% of Strategy's total Bitcoin treasury at current prices — a meaningful but not existential portion of its holdings, though still one of the largest single corporate Bitcoin sales in history if it happened.
📰 Related: Strategy Stock Falls Below $100 for First Time Since 2024
Why Pandl Thinks This Is Necessary
The recommendation isn't speculative noise. It's built on a specific cash-flow gap Pandl says is becoming harder to ignore.
Strategy's annual preferred-stock dividend obligations run to roughly $1.5 billion, while its software business brings in only about $477 million a year, according to CoinDesk's reporting on Pandl's analysis. That leaves a billion-dollar gap that, as things stand, only closes if Bitcoin's price keeps rising.
Pandl has specifically flagged weakness in STRC, Strategy's preferred stock, as an early warning sign. The shares were designed to trade near $100 while paying an 11.5% dividend, but have instead traded as low as $74.57 in recent sessions, Coingape reported.
📰 Related: Bitcoin ETFs Bleed Billions as BTC Retests 2024 Lows
The Alternative Pandl Says Is More Likely — and Worse
Pandl's own analysis points toward a different outcome than the one he's recommending, and he's said so explicitly.
He expects Strategy to raise STRC's dividend rate by 50 basis points instead of selling Bitcoin, a move that would add roughly $100 million in additional annual obligations over two years.
Pandl was blunt about what that alternative would mean: it "probably does not help market confidence," he said, framing a dividend hike as treating a symptom rather than addressing the underlying cash-flow problem his $3 billion recommendation is meant to solve.
What Strategy and Its Critics Are Actually Saying
The company itself hasn't endorsed Pandl's specific recommendation, and other analysts are split on whether selling Bitcoin is even necessary.
Strategy said on Monday it plans to keep replenishing its cash reserves to support the credit quality of its preferred securities, framing the issue as one of liquidity management rather than a forced sale. An 8-K filing showed the company increased its dollar reserve by $300 million to $1.4 billion, providing roughly 14 months of dividend coverage — down sharply from a cushion that once stretched to seven years.
CryptoQuant, in a separate report, argued Strategy has other tools available besides selling Bitcoin, including raising STRC's dividend yield further, and recommended the company pause new Bitcoin purchases entirely to focus on rebuilding cash reserves, which are down 38% in 2026.
Why Selling Bitcoin at All Makes Some Investors Nervous
Not everyone thinks a sale, even a modest one, would land the way Pandl hopes.
Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff warned on X that Strategy "can't sell Bitcoin without crashing the price of Bitcoin," arguing that even pausing further purchases alone could weigh heavily on the market, given Strategy's position as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.
Strategy currently holds 847,363 BTC, representing unrealized losses estimated around $13 billion at current prices, according to tracking site Saylor Tracker. The company sold 32 Bitcoin on June 1, its first sale since beginning its accumulation strategy — a transaction that, while tiny in scale, marked a symbolic shift some analysts say has already shaped how the market views the company's "never sell" reputation.
Key Takeaways
- Grayscale's head of research, Zach Pandl, has urged Strategy to sell at least $3 billion in Bitcoin to cover cash obligations.
- The recommendation is not a confirmed plan — Strategy has not announced any such sale.
- STRC, Strategy's preferred stock, has traded as low as $74.57, well below its $100 intended level.
- Pandl expects Strategy to instead raise STRC's dividend by 50 basis points, which he says "probably does not help market confidence."
- CryptoQuant argues Strategy has other options besides selling Bitcoin; critic Peter Schiff warns a sale could crash Bitcoin's price.
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Business & Finance Editor
Sarah Collins reports on markets, Wall Street, corporate news, and the global economy. She specializes in making financial news accessible to everyday readers.
