Bitcoin treasury companies lose $62B as Bitcoin slides this week

The companies that built their entire identity around stacking Bitcoin just watched $62 billion in shareholder value evaporate. The combined fully diluted market capitalization of Bitcoin treasury firms dropped from around $134 billion to roughly $72 billion.

Bitcoin itself has been trading in the $60,000 to $63,000 range, well off its previous highs. And the stocks tethered to it have, predictably, fallen even harder.

Strategy Inc. takes the biggest hit

Strategy Inc., the firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, saw its market cap crater from $102.2 billion to about $45.6 billion. That’s a roughly 55% decline.

The company currently holds over 843,700 BTC, purchased at an average cost of approximately $75,699 per coin. Strategy’s entire Bitcoin stash is underwater at current prices, with Bitcoin trading more than $12,000 below that average acquisition cost.

Between May 26 and May 31, Strategy sold 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million at an average price of about $77,135. That marked the company’s first Bitcoin sale since 2022. The reason was covering dividend payments. It’s a relatively small amount, about 0.004% of their total holdings, but a company that built its brand on never selling Bitcoin just sold Bitcoin.

Other firms in the Bitcoin treasury space, including Tesla and Marathon Digital, also contributed to the aggregate losses. But Strategy remains the gravitational center of this trade, holding more Bitcoin than any other public company by a wide margin.

What’s driving the sell-off

Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced eleven consecutive days of massive outflows, creating sustained selling pressure on the underlying asset.

Many of these treasury companies had been trading at significant premiums to their net asset value. Strategy’s 55% decline against Bitcoin’s smaller percentage drop illustrates the leverage embedded in these positions. These companies often finance purchases through convertible notes and equity offerings, adding layers of financial complexity that magnify both gains and losses.

What this means for investors

If Strategy’s Bitcoin is underwater at an average cost of $75,699 while the asset trades near $60,000, the company’s equity is essentially a leveraged bet that Bitcoin recovers.

The forced sale of 32 BTC to cover dividends introduces a new risk factor. If Bitcoin stays depressed or declines further, companies with debt obligations and dividend commitments may need to sell more.

Investors should be watching whether Strategy and other treasury firms continue selling Bitcoin to meet financial obligations, and whether ETF outflows stabilize or accelerate, since those flows directly impact the price of the asset these companies have staked everything on.

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