Strategy unloads $2.007B of MSTR stock; BitMine boosts ETH stash by 32,447 tokens

Editor's note: In last week's CryptoStock Indicator, we flagged late September as a potential inflection point for crypto. The market quickly proved reflexive again. A boost from constructive U.S. regulatory signals, plus upbeat comments and policy messaging from Trump, sparked a sharp bullish reversal that has extended into a run of more than a week. Bitcoin briefly climbed above $81,000 and Ether pushed past $2,500. Crypto-linked equities rebounded alongside the move, with Strategy, BitMine and Circle among the standout names. In Asia, Japan and South Korea equities remain in recovery mode. In the U.S., the storage segment has turned temporarily soft and momentum in AI-related stocks has cooled. Hedge funds, meanwhile, have been reducing U.S. equity exposure. The Kobeissi Letter said funds posted their largest net selling week of U.S. stocks since 'Liberation Day' in April 2025, snapping a three-week stretch of net buying. Single-name stocks made up about 53% of selling, with nine of 11 sectors seeing net outflows led by information technology, industrials, utilities, healthcare and materials. Macro products such as index futures and ETFs accounted for roughly 47% of selling. Funds also modestly increased shorts in U.S.-listed ETFs, ending a six-week short-covering run. Separately, influencer economist Fu Peng argued the market is in a 'vacuum' period in which investors are testing whether AI can form a fully viable business loop, with sentiment shifting from rewarding capital-expenditure arms races to penalizing them. J.P. Morgan strategist Jason Hunter said today's AI trading frenzy echoes the 1999–2000 tech bubble, warning that heavy concentration in technology may lift correction risk. J.P. Morgan also pointed to higher U.S. Treasury yields, Middle East geopolitical tensions and slowing consumer spending as additional pressure points, making September a potentially challenging month for U.S. equities. More CoinStock market information is available at MSX.COM. (Odaily Planet Daily note: This content is for learning and discussion only and does not constitute investment advice.) Weekly roundup: crypto holdings and listed-company moves BTC treasury highlights Public companies' net Bitcoin purchases surged week over week; Strategy sells $2.007B of MSTR shares to build cash SoSoValue data show that as of 8:00 a.m. ET on Aug. 24, 2026, global publicly listed companies (excluding miners) posted net weekly Bitcoin purchases of $81.48 million, up 1,431.6% from the prior week. Strategy made no Bitcoin trades last week but sold 18,261,118 shares of MSTR common stock, generating $2.007 billion in proceeds. Japan-listed Metaplanet also made no Bitcoin purchase last week, extending its streak to six straight weeks without adding BTC. Two other firms disclosed buying Bitcoin: asset manager Strive said on Aug. 24 it spent $81.48 million last week to acquire 1,110 BTC at $73,409 each, lifting holdings to about 21,356 BTC. Ethereum-focused firm BitMine said on Aug. 24 it bought 1 BTC (purchase amount undisclosed), raising its BTC total to 210. Boya Interactive said it spent $7.35 million in Q2 2026 to buy 108 BTC at around $68,047 each. As of June 30, 2026, it held 4,201 BTC. At publication time, listed companies globally (excluding miners) held 1,140,751 BTC, up 0.1% from last week. Those holdings are valued at about $89.52 billion, equal to roughly 5.7% of Bitcoin's circulating market cap. Strategy holds 840,447 BTC; position turns profitable again Strategy holds 840,447 BTC at an average purchase price of $75,385. After five straight days of gains and a move above $78,000, the position returned to profit for the first time since July. At a Bitcoin price of $78,400, the stake is worth about $65.89 billion, implying an unrealized gain of roughly $2.53 billion versus $63.36 billion invested, or about a 4% return. Over the past six weeks, the position's value has swung by about $15.5 billion. Since May, Strategy has sold 6,948 BTC for approximately $432.5 million. Over the same period, it raised $334 million through MSTR share sales, using proceeds for preferred dividends, STRC buybacks and U.S. dollar reserves, which stand at $6.7 billion. Strive CEO: the Bitcoin bull market is just getting started Strive CEO Matt Cole said Feb. 19 marked the bottom of ASST's current bear market. He said executives and directors bought ASST shares with personal funds during the downturn, and some directors left the board to join the company full time. Cole said Strive's focus remains unchanged even after the stock's sharp rise: it views the Bitcoin bull market as only beginning and says its capital structure is built to amplify Bitcoin performance, remaining 'all-in.' BSTR ends merger plan with Cantor Equity Partners Bitcoin treasury company BSTR Holdings said it agreed with Cantor Equity Partners to terminate their business combination agreement signed July 16, 2025. BSTR cited ongoing valuation pressure on Bitcoin and listed Bitcoin treasury firms that has disrupted capital markets alignment and reduced the effectiveness of leverage tools such as convertible bonds and perpetual preferred shares within Bitcoin-treasury strategies. The firm said it will continue developing its institutional-grade Bitcoin asset management business when conditions stabilize. Metaplanet U.S. unit Super League raises $2.3M via first ATM issuance Super League, a U.S.-based Bitcoin treasury subsidiary of Japan's Metaplanet, raised $2.3 million in its first at-the-market (ATM) offering since the transaction was announced. Metaplanet is tapping capital markets in both Asia and North America. ETH treasury highlights BitMine adds 32,447 ETH; total holdings reach 5.8476 million ETH As of 2:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 23, BitMine held 5,847,611 ETH—about 4.8% of Ethereum's total supply—after adding 32,447 ETH last week. BitMine said its combined crypto assets, cash, securities and 'Moonshot' investments total about $14.9 billion, including $308 million in cash and securities, 210 BTC, $180 million of equity in Beast Industries and $89 million invested in Eightco Holdings. BitMine has staked 5,067,309 ETH, around 87% of its ETH holdings, valued at about $12.4 billion, with estimated annualized staking income of $330 million. Based on Aug. 22 holding data, BitMine held 5.815164 million ETH at an average cost of $3,366. With ETH at $2,436 at that time, its unrealized loss narrowed to $5.408 billion. Tom Lee: BitMine's 10-year thesis is Ethereum leadership in tokenization and AI BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said the company's historical role has been supporting Ethereum's status as the leading public blockchain. He said the view that Ethereum's market cap can surpass Bitcoin's is 'very defensible,' adding that ETH prices of $50,000, $100,000 or $200,000 would generate 'legendary' shareholder returns. SharpLink Gaming restakes 39,300 ETH On Aug. 21, Lookonchain reported that SharpLink Gaming (@Sharplink) restaked 39,300 ETH worth about $91 million roughly four hours earlier. SOL treasury highlights Solmate adds 1,000 SOL and reaffirms treasury strategy Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company Solmate Infrastructure disclosed an additional purchase of 1,000 SOL, taking total holdings to about 1.25 million SOL, valued at roughly $102.2 million. Solmate said its move into AI infrastructure will not change its long-term commitment to the Solana ecosystem. Altcoin treasury and other listed-company developments AIxCrypto plans to exit crypto holdings and pivot to robot leasing AIxCrypto Holdings said it plans an orderly exit from its cryptocurrency assets and will shift toward robot leasing operations. As of June 30, the company held 46 BTC, 616 ETH, 6,659 SOL, 1,308 BNB and smaller amounts of ADA, LINK, TRX, USDT and XRP. Total cost basis was $10.43 million versus fair value of $5.21 million. The company burned $7.94 million in operating cash in the first half, has accumulated losses of $150 million and held $577,000 in cash at quarter-end. It made no crypto purchases or sales in Q2 and warned that volatility, market depth and custody constraints could cause realized values to fall well below book value. Eightco repurchases 14 million shares; digital-asset treasury totals $389 million Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) said it repurchased about 14 million shares over the past two weeks and now reports treasury assets of about $389 million. Disclosures show Eightco's treasury is primarily about 302 million WLD (Worldcoin) tokens, 16,278 ETH, roughly $90 million of indirect OpenAI equity exposure, and equity investments in Beast Industries valued at around $18 million. Eightco has said it is building an allocation framework around three themes—artificial intelligence, digital identity and the creator economy. Its WLD position is central to its digital-identity strategy: the company says it holds about 8% of circulating supply, the largest disclosed institutional stake among publicly reported holders. Stanley Druckenmiller buys Bitdeer and Hyperliquid Strategies Duquesne Family Office founder Stanley Druckenmiller bought 4.1 million shares of Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR) in Q2. The position was valued at more than $647 million at an average purchase price of $12.26. Bitdeer makes crypto mining hardware and operates data centers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Druckenmiller also bought 2.9 million shares of Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR), a digital-asset treasury company tied to the HYPE ecosystem, for a position value of $23.1 million, providing indirect exposure to HYPE. Hyperliquid Strategies aims to offer U.S. and institutional investors access to the HYPE token. His moves echoed Q2 buying in BTDR by Jane Street and Citadel; Jane Street's BTDR stake is valued at more than $112 million. BlackRock, State Street and Citadel also increased PURR holdings in Q2. HYPE previously hit an all-time high on related compliance news.