In a move that would have been unthinkable a year ago, Michael Saylor's Strategy has sold Bitcoin. The company offloaded 3,588 Bitcoin for approximately $216 million, even as it sits on an $8.32 billion paper loss on its remaining holdings. The development was a central topic in Episode 809 of DH Unplugged, titled "He's Selling Bitcoin!" hosted by John C. Dvorak and Andrew Horowitz.
According to the podcast, proceeds from the sale are being used for preferred stock dividends and dollar reserves. Horowitz noted that Saylor, who famously advocated never selling Bitcoin, is now selling to service the capital structure. The average purchase price of Strategy's Bitcoin holdings was $75,476, while recent sales occurred between $59,000 and $61,000 per coin. Dvorak questioned whether the structure is "Ponzi-ish," reflecting skepticism about the pivot.
The broader market context includes a soft June jobs print, with 57,000 payrolls added versus a 110,000 estimate, and April and May revised down by 74,000. SpaceX joined the NASDAQ 100, displacing weight from Nvidia, Microsoft, and other megacaps. Oracle suffered its steepest weekly drop since the dot-com bust, falling 19% amid $130 billion in debt and $24 billion in negative free cash flow. Tesla reported record Q2 deliveries of 480,000 vehicles but saw its shares drop 8%.
The hosts also flagged concerns about the AI trade. Reports suggest Nvidia's Kyber architecture could slip up to 12 months into 2028, and Goldman Sachs data shows hedge funds dumped tech hardware and semiconductor exposure for a fourth straight week. Meanwhile, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's sudden speaking tour coincided with the stock's decline. Microsoft conducted roughly 4,800 layoffs pinned on AI.
Other notable items include OPEC+ adding 188,000 barrels per day in August, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve falling to 319 million barrels (its lowest since 1983), and a China court sentencing former Nanjing official Yang Yulin to death over $325 million in bribes. John Williams's Shadow Stats is cited, pegging alternative unemployment near 25% and inflation around 9%.
The episode underscores a market suddenly questioning the AI trade and risk assets, with Strategy's Bitcoin sale serving as a symbolic turning point. The full episode is available at dhunplugged.com and on major podcast platforms.
