Bitcoin Slides Under $72K as Strategy Sells 32 BTC, OranjeBTC Adds 20, BitMine Loads $52M ETH

Bitcoin News

A $20 million Bitcoin prediction pool on Polymarket has descended into a resolution war after Strategy disclosed it sold 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31 to help cover preferred stock distributions. The contract, which asked whether Michael Saylor's treasury firm would sell any bitcoin before May 31, has been resolved "No" twice and challenged twice, now sitting in final review. Yes-side traders point to the filing's explicit date range, while No-side holders argue the information was not public when the deadline passed, leaving the outcome to UMA's optimistic oracle process.

Michael Saylor broke his silence with a pointed message on X, declaring Strategy's goal is to make STRC "the best credit instrument in the world" — sidestepping the bitcoin sale entirely. The 32 BTC, sold at an average price of $77,135 for roughly $2.5 million, was earmarked to fund distributions on the 11.5% annual yield Stretch preferred stock, which carries a monthly cash burden near $100 million. Saylor's framing reinforces a thesis built around bitcoin-per-share growth rather than gross coin count, even as critics revived the running joke that the firm has now booked its rare sale into weakness.

Strategy shares paid the price, sliding 5.3% to $150.68 — a 45-day low that nearly wiped out year-to-date gains before a partial rebound. TD Cowen's Lance Vitanza held his $400 price target, arguing the 0.0038% trim of the 843,706 BTC circulating supply on the company's balance sheet is "economically immaterial" and that headlines suggesting a meaningful reduction are misleading. Benchmark's Mark Palmer echoed the view that bitcoin disposals will not become a primary dividend funding mechanism. Still, the equity reaction signals investor unease about how Strategy's capital structure obligations may interact with future BTC holdings.

In Latin America, OranjeBTC pushed the opposite direction, scooping up 20 BTC for about $1.506 million at an average price near $75,346 while repurchasing 289,100 OBTC3 shares. The São Paulo-listed firm — Brazil's largest corporate bitcoin treasury — now holds 3,762 BTC accumulated for roughly $395.33 million, with a blended cost basis of $105,085 per coin. Year-to-date BTC yield reached 2.20% for 2026, already matching the firm's full-year 2025 figure. The dual-track allocation, blending direct accumulation with buybacks, mirrors the per-share concentration playbook now defining the corporate bull market thesis.

Trading desks reacted swiftly, with crypto volume spiking on June 1 as the Strategy disclosure collided with broader risk-off positioning. Bitcoin fell 2.35% under $72,000, Ethereum slipped 1.96%, and US spot Bitcoin ETF products have now shed more than $1.5 billion — the largest fund exit of 2026. On-chain flow data showed AAVE leading mid-cap outflows near $133,000, with Chainlink close behind at roughly $116,000 as holders trimmed exposure. A narrow bid emerged in AI and privacy-themed tokens, but the broader tape reflected coordinated de-risking rather than panic capitulation.

Adding fuel to the rotation narrative, BitMine Immersion Technologies — Tom Lee's ETH-focused treasury vehicle — added another 26,497 ETH for roughly $52 million as Ethereum dipped below $2,000 for the first time since late March. BitMine now controls 5,416,901 ETH, about 4.48% of the circulating supply, valued north of $10.6 billion, alongside $446 million in cash and a 203 BTC sleeve. Lee framed current pricing as a disconnect from strengthening Ethereum fundamentals, calling the cycle an early-stage crypto spring. The contrast with Strategy's $2.5 million sale crystallized the diverging capital-allocation philosophies splitting public treasury operators.

Separately, a billion-dollar mystery exit from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust resurfaced as analysts dissected the largest off-exchange print in spot Bitcoin ETF history. A single seller offloaded 29.21 million IBIT shares at $43.16 against a prevailing $44.17 quote, eating a 2.3% haircut — roughly $29.5 million in execution costs — to secure immediate liquidity. The trade hit FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret with an Intermarket Sweep Order and Reg NMS exemption, ruling out a routine basis-trade unwind. The decision to prioritize speed over price suggests the whale anticipated the subsequent leg lower in the broader digital asset market.

BTC is trading near $71,394 after a 2.86% daily drop, with a $1.43 trillion market cap and roughly $22.4 billion in 24-hour volume framing a sideways structure. With ETF demand fading and Strategy's symbolic sale denting sentiment, the $70,000 round number becomes the immediate psychological floor; a clean break risks revisiting February's $60,000 wick. To the upside, reclaiming $77,000 — the level Strategy itself sold at — would invalidate the bearish handoff and restore range conditions. Watch ETF flow reversals and treasury-firm accumulation cadence: another week of net outflows alongside dormant corporate bids would tilt the balance toward continued distribution.