Bitcoin surpasses $81,000 as Strategy considers liquidating its BTC to meet dividend commitments.

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor indicating a possible bitcoin sale to meet $1.5 billion in annual dividend commitments caused MSTR to decline 4% in after-hours trading, while BTC briefly dipped below $81,000.

What to know:

• Bitcoin rose above $81,000 amid record-setting global equities as diminishing tensions with Iran and renewed optimism in AI contributed to a widespread risk-on rally.
• Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, indicated it may liquidate a portion of its 818,334-BTC reserve for the first time to assist in covering dividend payments, causing its stock to decline in after-hours trading.
• Ether did not keep pace with the crypto increase as spot ETH exchange-traded funds experienced net outflows, while other significant tokens like Solana and Dogecoin saw notable gains.

Bitcoin BTC$81,551.15 surged past $81,000 during Asian trading on Tuesday, according to CoinDesk market data, marking a 6.7% increase for the week and benefiting from the broader risk-on sentiment that has equities reaching record highs amid easing tensions with Iran and renewed optimism in AI.

Other major cryptocurrencies also experienced upward movement. Solana increased by 3% to $87.35, while Dogecoin gained another 4% to $0.1158, bringing its weekly increase to 14.5% with futures open interest at year-highs. XRP, BNB, and TRX all closed in the green for the day.

Ether lagged behind, declining 0.3% over the past 24 hours, despite a weekly gain of 3.9%, currently valued at $2,376. Spot ETH ETF inflows turned negative last week, ending a three-week inflow streak.

Wall Street indices finished at record highs on Tuesday after President Donald Trump indicated progress towards a “final agreement” with Iran and announced a temporary pause on Operation Project Freedom. Brent crude prices fell 1.7% to around $108 per barrel. The dollar, previously a safe haven during the US-Israel conflict concerning Iran, weakened against all its G-10 counterparts.

Asian equity markets surged to record levels on Wednesday morning, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index rising 1.8%. South Korea’s Kospi soared more than 6% to an all-time high, with Samsung Electronics climbing 15% to achieve a $1 trillion valuation, becoming the second Asian company to reach that milestone.

Strong earnings reports from Advanced Micro Devices and Super Micro Computer contributed to the momentum in AI trading, with Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.6%.

A significant update emerged as Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor mentioned in the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call that it may divest a portion of its bitcoin holdings to facilitate dividend payments.

"We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it," Saylor stated.

The largest corporate holder of bitcoin, with 818,334 BTC at an average purchase price of $75,537, has not previously sold any part of its holdings. The strategy has always been to acquire and retain.

Strategy reported a $12.54 billion net loss for Q1, attributed to bitcoin’s decline from its peak of $126,000 in October, impacting the company’s mark-to-market accounting. The firm has approximately $1.5 billion in annual dividend obligations across preferred stock and outstanding debt, with about 18 months of USD reserves available at current operational rates.

MSTR shares fell over 4% in after-hours trading following the announcement, and BTC briefly fell below $81,000 before bouncing back.

Saylor characterized this decision as an aspect of their strategy rather than a deviation from it.

"You buy bitcoin with credit, you let it appreciate, and then you sell bitcoin to pay the dividend."

This statement contrasts with previous Strategy quarters, where the approach was to issue additional debt or equity to meet obligations instead of utilizing the BTC reserve.