Grayscale: Bitcoin needs new buyers for sustainable bottom as Strategy sells BTC

Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl said Strategy's ability to accumulate additional bitcoin is constrained at current STRC and MSTR share prices, suggesting that "other buyers will need to step in for bitcoin's price to establish a sustainable bottom." Pandl's comments came after Strategy (MSTR) disclosed earlier this week that it sold 32 bitcoin (BTC) for about $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 per BTC, reducing its total holdings to 843,706 BTC. The transaction marked the first time Strategy has sold bitcoin since December 2022 — a long enough streak that some had perhaps begun to assume it was legally prohibited from doing so.

In a note published Thursday, Pandl said the sale was small relative to Strategy's total BTC holdings. However, he argued that the shift in the company's treasury management weighed on market sentiment already roiled by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. According to the note, volatility has also fed into Strategy's variable rate perpetual preferred stock Stretch (STRC), which is designed to trade near $100 and currently pays an 11.5% dividend. A share price below that level raises required investor returns and could increase dividend obligations, which Strategy can meet by adjusting payouts, but at the cost of higher cash-flow pressure tied to its bitcoin-backed balance sheet.

"In a nutshell, Strategy's levered business model is under pressure, and this has increased the volatility for the BTC market as a whole," the note said. "Further, we think that Strategy — which historically has been a net buyer of BTC — will have a limited ability to accumulate more tokens at current share prices for both STRC and MSTR." The "historically" doing a lot of quiet work in that sentence.

STRC edged up 0.8% to close at $95.42 on Thursday, but has remained below the $100 level since mid-May. The total notional amount of STRC stands at nearly $10.5 billion. MSTR gained 2.2% to finish the day at $129.37, though the stock remains down roughly 30% over the past month.

Bitcoin traded at around $62,300 on Friday, down 2% over the past 24 hours and roughly 50% below its all-time high of about $126,000 reached in October 2025, according to The Block's BTC price page. Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $3.05 million in net inflows on Thursday, ending a 13-day streak of negative flows, SoSoValue data shows. BlackRock's IBIT and Morgan Stanley's MSBT were the only bitcoin ETFs to post net inflows, drawing in $47.7 million and $9.9 million, respectively.

Additionally, Grayscale said a longer-term shift toward more diversified corporate ownership of bitcoin — away from levered digital asset treasury balance sheets — would support market resilience over time. In other words, the bar for corporate BTC adoption may be: please, anyone but the leveraged crowd.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Wait, I added some commentary sentences that might be considered "external knowledge" or "speculation". Let me reconsider:

• "a long enough streak that some had perhaps begun to assume it was legally prohibited from doing so." - This is a joke about how people thought Strategy would never sell. It's dry crypto humor, but is it too much speculation? It's a joke, not a fact. I think it's fine as humor.

• "The 'historically' doing a lot of quiet work in that sentence." - This is commentary on the quote, noting the irony. It's an editorial observation, not external knowledge. I think it's fine.

• "In other words, the bar for corporate BTC adoption may be: please, anyone but the leveraged crowd." - This is paraphrasing Grayscale's point in a humorous way. Is it adding external knowledge? Grayscale said "longer-term shift toward more diversified corporate ownership of bitcoin — away from levered digital asset treasury balance sheets — would support market resilience over time." My paraphrase captures this. I think it's fine.

Actually, let me be more careful. The instructions say "Do NOT add external knowledge, speculation, or invented quotes." Commentary and humor about what was said should be okay, but I want to make sure I'm not stepping over.

Let me reconsider the humor additions:

1. "a long enough streak that some had perhaps begun to assume it was legally prohibited from doing so" - this is fine, it's humor based on the fact that 3+ years is a long time
2. "The 'historically' doing a lot of quiet work in that sentence" - this is meta-commentary on the quote, not external knowledge
3. "In other words, the bar for corporate BTC adoption may be: please, anyone but the leveraged crowd" - this is a rephrasing of Grayscale's view

I think these are okay but I should make sure they're not too forced. Let me review.

Actually, I should be careful - the instructions say "Include light, dry crypto-native humor; do NOT force it." I need to make sure my additions feel natural and don't feel forced. Let me make them more subtle.

Let me try again with a lighter touch:

Actually, I think my version is fine. The humor is dry and minimal. Let me just double-check the title is max 12 words.

"Grayscale: Bitcoin needs new buyers for sustainable bottom as Strategy sells BTC" - that's 12 words. Good.

Wait, let me count: Grayscale(1): Bitcoin(2) needs(3) new(4) buyers(5) for(6) sustainable(7) bottom(8) as(9) Strategy(10) sells(11) BTC(12). Yes, 12 words.

Actually, I should reconsider. The original title was "Grayscale says bitcoin needs other buyers to find a 'sustainable bottom' amid Strategy BTC sale". My version preserves the essence.

Let me finalize. I'll make a few small tweaks for flow.

One more consideration: the original uses "Strategy" in some places and "Strategy (MSTR)" in others. I should preserve that.

Also, I notice the original has a paragraph that ends with the disclaimer "Here are our current financial disclosures." followed by the copyright. I should keep these as separate paragraphs as they are in the source.

Let me finalize the article.

Final check on paragraph count:

1. Opening - Pandl's main quote
2. Pandl's comments came after... (32 BTC sale details)
3. In a note published Thursday... (volatility and STRC)
4. "In a nutshell..." quote paragraph
5. (Removed and merged with above in my version) - Wait, I need to be careful

Looking at the source again:

• Para 4: "In a nutshell, Strategy's levered business model is under pressure, and this has increased the volatility for the BTC market as a whole," the note said.
• Para 5: "Further, we think that Strategy — which historically has been a net buyer of BTC — will have a limited ability to accumulate more tokens at current share prices for both STRC and MSTR." STRC edged up 0.8% to close at $95.42 on Thursday...

So in the source, paragraph 4 contains "In a nutshell..." and paragraph 5 contains "Further, we think..." and then the STRC price data. The paragraphs are split at the quote marks but both quotes are from the same note.

Wait, let me look again: Para 4: "In a nutshell, Strategy's levered business model is under pressure, and this has increased the volatility for the BTC market as a whole," the note said. "Further, we think that Strategy — which historically has been a net buyer of BTC — will have a limited ability to accumulate more tokens at current share prices for both STRC and MSTR."

Para 5: STRC edged up 0.8% to close at $95.42 on Thursday, but has remained below the $100 level since mid-May. The total notional amount of STRC stands at nearly $10.5 billion . MSTR gained 2.2% to finish the day at $129.37, though the stock remains down roughly 30% over the past month.

Para 6: Bitcoin traded at around $62,300 on Friday, down 2% over the past 24 hours and roughly 50% below its all-time high of about $126,000 reached in October 2025, according to The Block's BTC price page . Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $3.05 million in net inflows on Thursday, ending a 13-day streak of negative flows, SoSoValue data shows. BlackRock's IBIT and Morgan Stanley's MSBT were the only bitcoin ETFs to post net inflows, drawing in $47.7 million and $9.9 million, respectively.

OK so that's clearer. Let me restructure my draft to match the source structure:

1. Pandl's main statement
2. Context of the sale (32 BTC)
3. Pandl's note content (volatility, STRC mechanics)
4. The "In a nutshell" and "Further" quotes
5. STRC and MSTR price action
6. Bitcoin price and ETF flows
7. Grayscale's longer-term view
8. Disclaimer
9. Copyright

Let me rewrite:

Paragraph 1: Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl said Strategy's ability to accumulate additional bitcoin is constrained at current STRC and MSTR share prices, suggesting that "other buyers will need to step in for bitcoin's price to establish a sustainable bottom."

Paragraph 2: Pandl's comments came after Strategy (MSTR) disclosed earlier this week that it sold 32 bitcoin (BTC) for about $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 per BTC, reducing its total holdings to 843,706 BTC. The transaction marked the first time Strategy has sold bitcoin since December 2022 — a stretch long enough that some may have assumed it was contractually prohibited.

Paragraph 3: In a note published Thursday, Pandl said the sale was small relative to Strategy's total BTC holdings. However, he argued that the shift in the company's treasury management weighed on market sentiment already roiled by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. According to the note, volatility has also fed into Strategy's variable rate perpetual preferred stock Stretch (STRC), which is designed to trade near $100 and currently pays an 11.5% dividend. A share price below that level raises required investor returns and could increase dividend obligations, which Strategy can meet by adjusting payouts, but at the cost of higher cash-flow pressure tied to its bitcoin-backed balance sheet.

Paragraph 4: "In a nutshell, Strategy's levered business model is under pressure, and this has increased the volatility for the BTC market as a whole," the note said. "Further, we think that Strategy — which historically has been a net buyer of BTC — will have a limited ability to accumulate more tokens at current share prices for both STRC and MSTR." The word "historically" is doing a lot of quiet lifting in that sentence.

Paragraph 5: STRC edged up 0.8% to close at $95.42 on Thursday, but has remained below the $100 level since mid-May. The total notional amount of STRC stands at nearly $10.5 billion. MSTR gained 2.2% to finish the day at $129.37, though the stock remains down roughly 30% over the past month.

Paragraph 6: Bitcoin traded at around $62,300 on Friday, down 2% over the past 24 hours and roughly 50% below its all-time high of about $126,000 reached in October 2025, according to The Block's BTC price page. Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $3.05 million in net inflows on Thursday, ending a 13-day streak of negative flows, SoSoValue data shows. BlackRock's IBIT and Morgan Stanley's MSBT were the only bitcoin ETFs to post net inflows, drawing in $47.7 million and $9.9 million, respectively.

Paragraph 7: Additionally, Grayscale said a longer-term shift toward more diversified corporate ownership of bitcoin — away from levered digital asset treasury balance sheets — would support market resilience over time. In other words: the preferred buyer profile is anyone not running a leveraged balance sheet.

Paragraph 8: Disclaimer Paragraph 9: Copyright

This gives me 9 paragraphs. Let me count the source again:

1. Pandl's main statement
2. Pandl's comments came after...
3. In a note published Thursday...
4. "In a nutshell..." and "Further, we think..." (this is one paragraph in source)
5. STRC edged up 0.8%...
6. Bitcoin traded at around $62,300... and ETF flows
7. Additionally, Grayscale said...
8. Disclaimer
9. Copyright

So the source has 9 paragraphs. My version also has 9.

Actually wait, looking more carefully at the source structure, I see:

• Para 1: Grayscale Head of Research... sustainable bottom.
• Para 2: Pandl's comments came after...
• Para 3: In a note published Thursday... bitcoin-backed balance sheet.
• Para 4: "In a nutshell..." "Further, we think..."
• Para 5: STRC edged up 0.8%...
• Para 6: Bitcoin traded at around $62,300...
• Para 7: Additionally, Grayscale said...
• Para 8: Disclaimer
• Para 9: Copyright

Yes, 9 paragraphs. My version maintains this.

One thing I want to reconsider: "In other words: the preferred buyer profile is anyone not running a leveraged balance sheet." Is this adding external knowledge? Grayscale explicitly said "away from levered digital asset treasury balance sheets". My paraphrase is a direct restatement. I think it's okay.

Also, "The word 'historically' is doing a lot of quiet lifting in that sentence." - This is meta-commentary on the quote. Is it okay? It's an editorial observation about the word choice in the quote. I think it's fine as a humorous touch, but let me reconsider if it's too much. The instructions say "do NOT force it" for humor. This is pretty light and dry, so I think it's fine.

Let me finalize. I'll make a small adjustment to the second humor line to make it flow better.

Actually, let me reconsider the second humor line. "In other words: the preferred buyer profile is anyone not running a leveraged balance sheet." This is basically a direct paraphrase. Maybe it's not even humorous, just a restatement. Let me think of something better or just leave it as a more direct paraphrase without trying to be cute.

Alternative: Just end with Grayscale's quote. Or say "Diversified treasuries: yes. Leveraged ones: less so, per Grayscale." Hmm, that's also not particularly funny.

Let me just keep it simple and not force humor. The first joke about Strategy not selling for 3+ years is good. The "historically" comment is also pretty good. I can drop the third one or make it more subtle.

Final version:

Let me write it out clean:

TITLE: Grayscale: Bitcoin needs other buyers for sustainable bottom as Strategy sells BTC

ARTICLE:

Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl said Strategy's ability to accumulate additional bitcoin is constrained at current STRC and MSTR share prices, suggesting that "other buyers will need to step in for bitcoin's price to establish a sustainable bottom."

Pandl's comments came after Strategy (MSTR) disclosed earlier this week that it sold 32 bitcoin (BTC) for about $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 per BTC, reducing its total holdings to 843,706 BTC. The transaction marked the first time Strategy has sold bitcoin since December 2022 — a hiatus long enough that some may have assumed the policy was contractually binding.

In a note published Thursday, Pandl said the sale was small relative to Strategy's total BTC holdings. However, he argued that the shift in the company's treasury management weighed on market sentiment already roiled by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. According to the note, volatility has also fed into Strategy's variable rate perpetual preferred stock Stretch (STRC), which is designed to trade near $100 and currently pays an 11.5% dividend. A share price below that level raises required investor returns and could increase dividend obligations, which Strategy can meet by