Strategy Inc. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said corporate adoption of bitcoin is 'necessary, inevitable, and welcome' for the cryptocurrency to succeed as a global monetary network, in a July 18 post on X. Saylor argued that companies provide the legal structure, scale and continuity bitcoin requires. Public companies currently hold approximately 1.263 million BTC worth $80.82 billion according to BitcoinTreasuries data, with Strategy controlling 843,775 BTC—about 66.8% of the total. The concentration of holdings means Strategy's financing decisions carry outsized influence on the corporate bitcoin market, as the company manages $1.763 billion in annual preferred stock dividends while maintaining its bitcoin reserve.
In his July 18 post on X, Saylor said companies allow people to organize under law around a shared mission with greater "efficiency, transparency, creditworthiness, scale, resilience, and continuity." He added that corporate adoption is "necessary, inevitable, and welcome" for bitcoin to succeed as a global monetary network.
Strategy Holds 843,775 BTC Among 197 Public Company Holders
BitcoinTreasuries data showed that 197 public companies held approximately 1.263 million BTC worth $80.82 billion, with bitcoin trading near $64K. BTC accounted for 94.5% of the digital assets held by the tracked companies, while the number of public-company holders had declined by one during the preceding 30 days.
Strategy held 843,775 BTC, equal to about 66.8% of the public-company total. Twenty One Capital ranked second with 43,514 BTC, followed by Metaplanet with 43,000 BTC, MARA Holdings with 36,303 BTC and Bitcoin Standard Treasury with 30,021 BTC. That concentration makes Strategy's financing decisions more consequential to the corporate bitcoin market than those of any other listed holder.
Strategy Reports $54.03 Billion Bitcoin Reserve and $1.763 Billion Annual Dividends
Strategy's dashboard valued its bitcoin reserve at approximately $54.03 billion, based on a BTC price of $64,032. The company also reported $3 billion in cash reserves, $6.75 billion in debt and $15.46 billion in preferred securities.
Annual preferred dividends totaled $1.763 billion. Strategy estimated that its cash reserve provided 20.4 months of dividend coverage, while its bitcoin reserve represented 30.6 years of coverage at the displayed values. Those figures place bitcoin at the center of both Strategy's treasury position and the financing structure supporting its preferred securities.
Strategy Sold 3,620 BTC in Two Transactions to Fund Dividend Payments
Strategy sold 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million in May at an average price of $77,135. The company said the proceeds would help fund preferred-stock dividends, while it also raised $128.3 million through common-stock sales during the same period. The transaction was its first disclosed bitcoin sale since a tax-related disposal in 2022.
The company later sold another 3,588 BTC for about $216 million to support preferred dividend payments. Combined, the two sales totaled 3,620 BTC, or about 0.43% of Strategy's current 843,775 BTC position. The disposals were small relative to the total reserve, but they confirmed that bitcoin can be converted into cash when the preferred-stock structure creates recurring payment needs.
Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, offered a more constructive interpretation, arguing that wider acceptance of Strategy's bitcoin-backed preferred securities could reduce pressure for further BTC sales and eventually support renewed accumulation. He maintained a $100,000 bitcoin target for the end of 2026, implying roughly 56% upside from bitcoin's price near $64,000.
Strategy's Banking Index Scores Financial Sector at 32% Bitcoin Adoption
Strategy's Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index gave the financial sector an overall score of 32%, based on activity across trading, custody, ETFs, tokenization, lending, underwriting and corporate allocation.
Fidelity led with 71%, followed by BNY at 46% and Goldman Sachs at 45%. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup each scored 43%, while Royal Bank of Canada and SMBC ranked lowest at 13%. Fidelity was the only institution above 50%.
The index tracks the presence of bitcoin products and activity, not customer adoption, transaction volume, assets or revenue. Strategy also had not published full category weights or detailed scoring standards, limiting independent assessment of the 32% result.
FAQ
What did Michael Saylor say about corporate bitcoin adoption on July 18?
Michael Saylor said in a July 18 post on X that corporate adoption of bitcoin is "necessary, inevitable, and welcome" for bitcoin to succeed as a global monetary network. He argued that companies provide the legal structure, scale and continuity bitcoin requires.
How much bitcoin does Strategy Inc. hold compared to other public companies?
Strategy Inc. holds 843,775 BTC, which equals about 66.8% of the total bitcoin held by 197 public companies. Public companies collectively hold approximately 1.263 million BTC worth $80.82 billion according to BitcoinTreasuries data.
Why did Strategy sell bitcoin in May?
Strategy sold 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million in May at an average price of $77,135 to help fund preferred-stock dividends. The company later sold another 3,588 BTC for about $216 million to support preferred dividend payments, totaling 3,620 BTC sold across both transactions.
