Strategy Posts $12.5 Billion Q1 Loss as Bitcoin Slump Hammers Massive Holdings

Strategy Inc., the Bitcoin treasury company that has become the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency, reported a net loss of $12.54 billion for the first quarter of 2026—a staggering figure driven almost entirely by a decline in the value of its BTC stockpile.

The company’s operating loss for the quarter reached $14.47 billion, compared with $5.92 billion during the same period a year earlier. The bulk of that figure—$14.46 billion—reflects an unrealized loss on its digital assets as Bitcoin prices fell during the quarter.

The losses underscore the razor-thin line Strategy walks as a company whose fortunes are now inextricably tied to the volatile price of a single digital asset. Startegy previously reported a $12.4 billion net loss for Q4 2024.

As of May 3, the company held 818,334 Bitcoin, a 22% increase year to date. That stash currently has a market value of approximately $66.8 billion against an original cost basis of $61.81 billion, with an average purchase price of roughly $75,537 per coin. Bitcoin recently traded at about $81,600, and hit its highest price on Tuesday since January following a monthslong slump across the crypto market.

Despite the paper losses, Strategy’s leadership pointed to what they characterized as progress on multiple fronts. The company has raised $11.68 billion year to date to fund its Bitcoin acquisitions, and its newer preferred equity instrument, STRC, has raised $5.58 billion—a 189% increase year over year.

“Adoption of Bitcoin continues to grow in 2026,” said Strategy President and CEO Phong Le, in a statement. “Digital credit, highlighted by STRC, has been a big success. STRC has shown strong demand, high liquidity, and low volatility. We raised $5.6 billion year-to-date of STRC gross proceeds, increased daily trading volume to $375 million, while bringing volatility down to 3%, all done during a Bitcoin bear market.”

While Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, dipped slightly in after-hours trading, it has surged in value in recent weeks as Bitcoin’s value has continued to rebound and as the firm’s STRC shares have seen sizable demand.

MSTR finished the trading day at $186.90, up about 1.7% on the day and nearly 56% in the last month. Even so, shares are down more than 51% over the last year and traded well above $400 last summer.

The company has now made 23 consecutive on-time dividend distributions on its preferred equity products, totaling more than $693 million since their launch in early 2025.

Strategy’s underlying software business remained modest but stable, with total revenues of $124.3 million for the quarter—up 11.9% year-over-year—and a gross margin of 67.1%.

The company recently announced a proposed shareholder vote to double the dividend payment frequency on STRC to a semi-monthly schedule, a move it said could improve liquidity and price stability for the instrument.