Grayscale Says BTC Needs New Buyers After Strategy Sale
The asset manager warned that Strategy’s reduced capacity to accumulate Bitcoin could leave the market searching for new sources of demand.
Bitcoin’s recent volatility has reignited questions about the sustainability of institutional demand, with Grayscale suggesting that the market may need a wider base of buyers to support a durable recovery.
The comments came after Strategy — the world’s largest public corporate Bitcoin holder — disclosed its first Bitcoin sale in nearly four years, prompting debate over the extent to which the market has relied on a handful of major participants.
Grayscale Sees Limits to Strategy’s Buying Power
In a research note published on June 4, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl argued that Strategy’s capacity to continue accumulating Bitcoin could be constrained under current market conditions.
The assessment followed Strategy’s June 1 disclosure that it had sold 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million, at an average price of $77,135 per Bitcoin. The transaction reduced the firm’s total holdings to 843,706 BTC, marking its first Bitcoin sale since December 2022.
While Pandl described the sale as relatively minor compared with Strategy’s massive reserves, he noted that the development had affected investor sentiment during an already uncertain macroeconomic environment.
“In a nutshell, Strategy’s levered business model is under pressure, and this has increased the volatility for the BTC market as a whole,” Grayscale wrote in its research note.
“Further, we think that Strategy — which historically has been a net buyer of BTC — will have a limited ability to accumulate more tokens at current share prices for both STRC and MSTR.”
According to Pandl, other sources of demand may need to emerge if Bitcoin is to establish what he described as a “sustainable bottom.”
Strategy’s Financing Model Faces New Challenges
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy under the leadership of Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.
Since beginning its accumulation campaign in 2020, the company has repeatedly raised capital through:
- Equity offerings
- Convertible debt issuances
- Preferred share offerings
The approach transformed Strategy into one of the most influential institutional buyers in the digital asset market and inspired dozens of publicly traded firms to adopt similar treasury strategies.
However, Grayscale’s note highlighted growing pressure within the model itself.
Particular attention was drawn to Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, STRC, which is designed to trade near $100 per share while currently offering an 11.5% dividend yield.
According to Grayscale, if STRC trades below its intended level, investor return requirements increase, potentially forcing Strategy to raise dividend payments. Although the company can adjust distributions, doing so may place additional strain on cash flows linked to its Bitcoin-backed balance sheet.
Bitcoin Market Under Pressure
The concerns surrounding Strategy emerged during a broader market downturn.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $60,000, representing a decline of roughly 50% from its all-time high of approximately $126,000 reached in October 2025.
The sell-off has weighed on multiple institutional investment channels. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also recorded weekly net outflows, underscoring softer demand across segments that had previously supported price appreciation.
Although Strategy’s sale involved only a tiny fraction of its holdings, its symbolic significance appears to have resonated with investors accustomed to viewing the company as a consistent source of Bitcoin demand.
A More Diverse Ownership Base Could Strengthen Bitcoin
Despite the recent transaction, Grayscale did not suggest that Strategy had abandoned its long-term conviction in Bitcoin.
Instead, the research pointed toward the potential benefits of a broader distribution of ownership among corporations and institutions.
According to the note, a gradual shift away from highly leveraged treasury structures toward a more diversified group of corporate Bitcoin holders could improve the market’s resilience over time.
That perspective reflects a broader evolution taking place within the digital asset ecosystem, where institutional participation is expanding beyond early adopters and specialized investment firms.
According to the CryptoPulse.News Crypto Treasury Tracker, Strategy currently holds 843,706 BTC, maintaining its position as the largest public corporate Bitcoin holder by a substantial margin.
The company’s latest sale may ultimately prove insignificant in scale. Yet it has reopened an important discussion about the future of Bitcoin demand. As corporate adoption continues to mature, the market’s long-term stability may increasingly depend not on the actions of a single dominant buyer, but on a more diverse and sustainable foundation of participants willing to accumulate Bitcoin over time.
