On August 5, a wallet linked to Michael Saylor's company, Strategy, transferred 1,030 $BTC worth approximately $66 million, according to analysts at Lookonchain. This does not necessarily indicate a sale of the coins, and it is unclear how accurately the wallet owner has been identified, but the information is based on data from one of the largest blockchain analysis platforms, Arkham Intelligence.
Strategy is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, having begun building its reserve in 2020. Due to the cryptocurrency's 50% decline in value since last October, Saylor's company reported an $8.2 billion loss for the second quarter of 2026 and started selling Bitcoins at the end of May.
Proceeds from these sales are being used by Strategy to meet obligations: paying dividends on STRC preferred shares and their buyback. Notably, STRC shares were issued by the company specifically to raise funds for purchasing Bitcoins for the reserve, but market conditions have forced the company to change its financial model.
Since late May, the company has reported sales of cryptocurrency from its reserve exceeding $300 million. Earlier this week, Strategy sold Bitcoins worth $104 million. As of July 31, the company still owned 842,138 $BTC with a total value of approximately $52 billion, which it had spent $63.5 billion to acquire over the past 5-plus years.
Lookonchain also noted that the once-world's largest Bitcoin miner, MARA, which holds 36,303 $BTC ($2.34 billion), transferred 6,000 $BTC ($384 million) to the crypto service TwoPrime in the early hours of August 5. In this case as well, analysts reminded that the transaction does not necessarily mean a sale and could be related to asset management, but MARA, like Strategy, is known for having abandoned the model of accumulating Bitcoin and shifted to selling it.
In the first quarter of the year alone, MARA sold 20,880 $BTC for $1.5 billion, and in May announced that it now intends to sell Bitcoin from its reserve or purchase it depending on market conditions and business needs. The company plans to retrofit 90% of its unused capacity for artificial intelligence needs. MARA's CEO, Fred Thiel, admitted that supporting AI brings in more money, and the company will mine only until the electricity is needed for AI.
At the end of July, Frank Holmes, CEO of another major Canadian miner, HIVE Digital Technologies, stated that the profitability from AI is ten times higher than mining. Cryptocurrency mining companies are one after another reallocating their capacity for artificial intelligence needs, gradually reducing Bitcoin mining.
