Saylor floats selling BTC to cover dividends — MSTR drops 4% after hours, bitcoin dips below $81K.

During Strategy's Q1 2026 earnings call, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the company may sell a portion of its 818,334 BTC to fund dividend payments — framing it as a deliberate signal: 'We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it.' The disclosure came alongside a reported $12.54 billion net loss for the quarter, with an average acquisition cost of $75,537 per coin.

Strategy carries roughly $1.5 billion in annualized dividend and debt obligations, with an estimated 18 months of coverage remaining from USD reserves. Saylor described the underlying model as using credit to acquire bitcoin, allowing it to appreciate, then selectively liquidating to meet commitments — a cycle that only works if BTC holds above cost basis.

Markets reacted immediately: MSTR fell more than 4% in after-hours trading and bitcoin…