finance
MicroStrategy to Realize Q1 Bitcoin Loss for Tax Benefits, Consistent With 2022 Strategy
Executive Chairman Michael Saylor confirmed on the company's May 6 earnings call that Strategy is prepared to sell bitcoin, echoing a 2022 tax-loss harvesting move. Bitcoin fell 23 percent in the quarter to $67,700, prompting a $2.2 billion deferred tax asset. Shares of MSTR rose 1 percent in pre-market trading on May 11 while bitcoin traded above $81,000.
May 11, 6:57 AM·1m read1 source
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Strategy is prepared to sell bitcoin, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor confirmed on the company's Q1 2026 earnings call on May 6, 2026. The disclosure revives a tax-loss harvesting strategy the company first used in December 2022. Strategy sold 704 BTC on Dec.
8 million at $16,776 per coin. Two days later it repurchased 810 bitcoin. The sale was executed to carry back capital losses against previous capital gains and generate a tax benefit, Strategy said at the time.
Bitcoin fell 23 percent in Q1 2026 from $87,500 to $67,700. Under FASB fair value accounting rules that Strategy adopted on Jan. 1, 2025, the company marks its entire bitcoin holdings to market every quarter.
54 billion unrealized loss in the period. The accounting change pushed unrealized losses directly through the income statement. 2 billion deferred tax asset in Q1 2026.
CoinDesk reported that Michael Saylor's confirmation appeared to mark a shift for the world's largest publicly traded corporate holder of cryptocurrency, though the move would not be unprecedented.
Strategy's primary goal is to increase bitcoin per share, defined as the ratio of total bitcoin holdings divided by total diluted shares outstanding. 5 billion in annual dividend obligations from its perpetual preferred stock Stretch (STRC). MSTR was up 1 percent in pre-market trading on May 11, 2026.
Bitcoin traded above $81,000 the same day. The author of the CoinDesk story owns shares in Strategy (MSTR).
