Hougan Says MicroStrategy’s Run as Bitcoin’s Biggest Buyer May Be Over
Bitwise says Strategy can no longer be viewed only as a structural Bitcoin buyer. Its new capital framework also gives it room to sell BTC for dividends and reserves.
Key Takeaways
- Matt Hougan thinks MicroStrategy will probably no longer be the biggest structural buyer of Bitcoin.
- Strategy sold 32 BTC at the end of May and got more room to sell Bitcoin under the Digital Credit Capital Framework.
- Hougan expects institutional players like banks, asset managers, and ETFs to help fill part of the buying gap.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says MicroStrategy’s stretch as the market’s biggest buyer of Bitcoin is likely coming to an end. In his view, the treasury company is moving into a phase where it can also sell Bitcoin when conditions call for it, rather than only adding to its stack.
That change comes as Strategy’s preferred stock, issued by the company behind MicroStrategy, has fallen sharply. At the same time, a new capital plan gives the company more flexibility to sell Bitcoin for three uses, including meeting dividend obligations.
From One-Way Buying to Flexibility
Hougan says Strategy was, for years, a near-constant source of Bitcoin demand. The company built its position through ATM equity and preferred stock offerings, often adding thousands of BTC each week. This year, though, that pattern started to shift. One clear sign came when the company sold 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31 for about $2.5 million (€2.2 million), its first sale since December 2022.
The strain on the financing setup also showed up in the price of STRC, Strategy's perpetual preferred equity. It sank to a record low of 71.2 last week, even as Bitcoin fell below $60,000 (€52,600). Hougan went so far as to call STRC one of the biggest drivers of Bitcoin’s decline during that stretch.
What It Means for Bitcoin
On June 29, 2026, Strategy rolled out its Digital Credit Capital Framework. Under that structure, the company can periodically sell BTC to raise up to $1.25 billion (€1.1 billion) for its dollar reserve, cover dividend and interest costs when that is a better option than issuing new shares, and buy back stock or debt.
Hougan sees that as a meaningful structural change. He does not expect Strategy to turn into a major seller, but he also no longer sees it as the automatic dominant buyer. If Bitcoin rallies, Strategy could return to being a net buyer, according to Hougan, but its influence in the next cycle should be smaller than it was in the last one.
Institutional Buyers Fill the Gap
If Strategy slows its buying, Hougan expects institutions to step in and absorb part of the demand. He points to banks, asset managers, pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and financial advisors as the main pools of capital that could help fill the gap.
He also says there are already signs of that shift. Morgan Stanley recently launched its own Bitcoin ETFs, Wells Fargo is adding Bitcoin to model portfolios, and several sovereign wealth funds and sovereign banks are reportedly already holding Bitcoin or doing research on it. Hougan also notes that Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows in 2026, but since launching in 2024 they have still brought in more than $50 billion (€43.9 billion) combined.
For European crypto readers, the main takeaway is that the market may be becoming less reliant on one giant buyer. Strategy showed how much influence a single crypto company can have over the Bitcoin narrative, but the rise of ETFs and institutional allocations could gradually shift that balance. That makes the question of who becomes the next structural buyer more important than whether one company keeps buying for a little longer.
Strategy’s new capital plan and the debate around STRC also fit into a broader reassessment of the company. JPMorgan previously warned that the option to selectively sell Bitcoin could add extra volatility to the market.
