No, Strategy is not going to sell its bitcoin, Bitwise CIO believes

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan strongly refuted the idea that Strategy (MSTR) would be compelled to sell its substantial Bitcoin reserves due to external pressures like index changes or stock price drops.

Hougan addressed concerns stemming from MSCI potentially excluding digital asset treasury companies from its indexes by January 15th, which JPMorgan estimated could cause up to $2.8 billion in passive selling of MSTR stock. However, Hougan noted that index deletions historically have minimal impact and that Strategy's stock decline already reflects this possibility.

The core fear is that an MSCI exclusion would drive the stock below Net Asset Value (NAV), forcing Strategy to sell Bitcoin to stabilize finances. Hougan dismissed this, stating that MSTR's debt obligations—annual interest payments of about $800 million and maturities starting in 2027—do not create imminent pressure, especially given the company recently established a $1.44 billion USD reserve to cover dividends and debt servicing for over a year. Furthermore, co-founder Michael Saylor, who controls voting shares, has shown unwavering conviction in holding Bitcoin, making insider pressure to sell highly unlikely.

(Source：The Block)