CEO of Strategy Inc. Phong Le pushed back on Tuesday against the backlash that followed Bitcoin’s first sale since 2022. to say CNBC’s Power Lunch that the move was a deliberate, understated move designed to reflect operational flexibility — not strategic change.
“We wanted to take the market out and we wanted to test our methods,” Le said in what the network described as the first interview. “We learned that everything works.”
Between May 26 and May 31, Strategy to be sold 32 Bitcoin about $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 per coin – it is an exit that, although it represents just 0.004% of the total company, took off and outsized the market did and reignited the debate if Michael Saylor’s famous “do not sell” theory had left.
Le was careful to adjust the losses according to the flow of money rather than against it. He mentioned three reasons for the sale: to establish that the Strategy can sell if necessary, to confirm that the system within the execution of Bitcoin losses is fully operational, and to create an opportunity to seize tax losses on Bitcoin obtained at a low base price – the company has bought BTC at prices ranging from $10,000 to $125,000 per coin.
In opposition, he said that the sale was not driven by financial problems. “We didn’t have to sell our Bitcoin to realize the gains,” Le said. “We can do this through other fundraising activities.” The proceeds from the sale are allocated to the company’s shares The cost of STRC a forever loving property.
Le also said that Strategy remained a buyer: at the right level, the company bought about 1,500 Bitcoin at the same time it sold 32 coins.
The biggest exchange came when the host pushed Le for refunds to investors who believed Strategy had promised not to liquidate its Bitcoin reserves. Le acknowledged the disappointment but did not forgive.
“We have constituents that we have to answer to,” he said, listing shareholders, shareholders, creditors, and Bitcoin holders. “When it makes sense to the stockholders to sell our Bitcoin, we will.”
Le said that the biggest opponents were traders and “crypto anarchists” who were committed to working in a sustainable manner – not the owners that the company directly deals with.
“The corporate shareholders we talked to don’t seem to be upset about it,” he said.
This is not the first Bitcoin loss for Strategy. In December 2022, the company to be sold 704 BTC at $16,776 per coin and bought another 810 BTC two days later – a tax-free harvesting strategy that exploited the lack of a crypto wash-sale law.
Chief market analyst Jeffrey David Zervos, who joined Le on set, asked about the bigger picture surrounding Bitcoin, noting the weakness of traditional securities. Le acknowledged that the storm is growing, citing three main forces that are forcing Bitcoin: the uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path, the two world wars, and the lack of clear legislation from Congress in anticipation of crypto laws.
However, Le remained bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term outlook.
“I think Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation.” I think that Bitcoin is a hedge against the big government,” he said, adding that the current position – which could be – shows an approximately 75% pullback that was seen in May 2022, four years ago.
Bitcoin price and Strategy shares under pressure
The market, at the moment, is very small. Bitcoin was trading around $61,600 on June 10, 2026 – down more than 40% from the all-time high of $126,198 reached in October 2025. The deep-selling after the announcement of the Strategy is in line with the history of ETF outflows of about $2.8 billion and $3.5 billion.
MSTR shares have been caught in the same market, trading around $117–$127 as of this week – down about 67% from their 52-week high of $457.
Strategy from then on he started again buy, get 1,550 BTC at an average price of $65,332 between June 1 and June 7 in a move known by experts as an effort to restore confidence in the market.
As of the end of May, the company held 845,256 Bitcoins for a total value of approximately $63.97 billion.
