MicroStrategy raised $3.28 billion in August by selling its own stock. It spent none of that money on Bitcoin (BTC).
The company bought dollars instead, and is poised to close the month with more cash, fewer coins, and a heavier dividend bill.
What MicroStrategy Did With the Money Instead of Bitcoin
Four weekly filings show that MicroStrategy sold 31.3 million shares so far across August. Not one dollar became Bitcoin.
The cash went into two piles:
The USD Reserve grew from $4.0 billion to $5.10 billion. A brand new pool called USD Cash holds another $1.59 billion.That is $6.69 billion sitting in dollars. The reserve has one job, which is covering dividends and debt interest. USD Cash is far looser.
"a separately designated pool of U.S. dollar liquidity that the Company may retain for future deployment for general Bitcoin Treasury Company purposes, which may include acquiring Bitcoin..." the latest Strategy filing says.
So the option to buy is funded and written down. The company simply has not used it.
Strategy increased USD Reserve to .10B, established additional USD Cash of https://twitter.com/saylor/status/2091859021456146659?s=20.59B, and repurchased 6M of $STRC . As of 8/23/26: Strategy holds ~4% of Total BTC Supply and has ~0% Net Leverage. $MSTR https://t.co/WZ9GFtJBXh
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) August 24, 2026
The Selling Started in June and Never Stopped
MicroStrategy last bought Bitcoin on June 22. It took 520 coins at $67,068 each.
Since that day it has sold 6,916 coins and bought none. Two of those sales fell in August, moving 3,328 BTC near $64,000 a piece.
Now check the timing. Bitcoin trades near $78,457 after a 22% climb in seven days, according to BeInCrypto data. Strategy's average cost is $75,385 a coin.
Bitcoin Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto The company sold low, then sat out the bounce. Its nine-week buying pause is still running.
A 2025 Bitcoin Raise That Became a Bill
Here is the part that explains the rest. Strategy sold STRC preferred stock in July 2025 and raised $2.47 billion. The stated use of proceeds included buying Bitcoin.
STRC paid 9% a year at launch. It pays 12% now. The shares also trade under their $100 face value.
MicroStrategy STRC Dividends. Source: Strategy So Strategy is buying them back at a discount. It spent $458.4 million on 4.88 million STRC shares in August, partly funded by selling Bitcoin.
Every share retired kills a future dividend. Saylor mapped these pressure points in a Bitcoin credit risk model published this month.
Raising more cash stays easy. Strategy's shelf programs still hold $44.9 billion of unused capacity across five securities.
September asks a simpler question. With Bitcoin back above its cost basis, will Strategy finally spend some of that $6.69 billion on coins?
Read the Original story MicroStrategy Bought $3.28 Billion of US Dollars in August, Not Bitcoin by Lockridge Okoth at beincrypto.com