Bitcoin rally above $81K pushes Strategy's BTC holdings back into profit

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo Wed, August 26, 2026 at 1:38 AM PDT | 4 min read

• MSTR
• BTC-USD

Key Takeaways

• Strategy's 840,447 BTC position returned to profit after Bitcoin surpassed its $75,385 average purchase price.
• Bitcoin's surge above $81,000 transformed an estimated $9.5 billion paper loss into a roughly $4.7 billion unrealized gain within one week.
• Every $1,000 change in Bitcoin's price shifts the value of Strategy's holdings by approximately $840 million.

Bitcoin's rapid recovery has pushed Strategy's cryptocurrency holdings back into profit, reversing billions of dollars in unrealized losses in less than a week.

The company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, holds approximately 840,447 BTC acquired at an average price of $75,385 per coin. Its aggregate purchase cost stands at roughly $63.36 billion, while the position's market value climbed above $66 billion as Bitcoin broke through Strategy's cost basis and briefly traded above $81,000.

At the rally's peak, Strategy's paper profit reached approximately $4.7 billion. Only a week earlier, when Bitcoin traded near the low-$60,000 range, the company faced an unrealized loss estimated at $9.5 billion.

The extraordinary turnaround illustrates both the scale of Strategy's Bitcoin exposure and the volatility that comes with it.

Strategy Swings From $9.5B Loss to $4.7B Profit

Bitcoin's rebound from around $60,000 to above $81,000 produced a valuation swing of roughly $14 billion for Strategy's holdings.

Because the company owns more than 840,000 BTC, every $1,000 change in Bitcoin's price alters the position's value by approximately $840 million. That sensitivity makes Strategy one of the most visible proxies for institutional Bitcoin exposure.

Crossing the $75,385 average purchase price marked a critical threshold. Above that level, the company's overall position returns to an unrealized profit; below it, the holdings move back into the red.

Bitcoin's advance to around $81,000 valued Strategy's holdings at approximately $68.1 billion, compared with their $63.36 billion acquisition cost. However, any retreat toward the company's cost basis could quickly erase those gains.

Strategy Builds Cash as Bitcoin Rallies

Strategy did not announce a new Bitcoin purchase during the latest rally. Instead, it strengthened its cash reserves after selling 18.26 million MSTR shares for approximately $2.01 billion.

The company reportedly set aside $1.59 billion in a separate cash reserve to support future Bitcoin purchases. Its primary US dollar reserve also increased to around $5.1 billion.

Strategy additionally repurchased approximately $136 million of its STRC preferred stock.

Its most recent reported Bitcoin transaction involved selling 1,690 BTC on Aug. 10, illustrating that the company may make limited disposals despite Michael Saylor's longstanding emphasis on accumulating and holding the asset.

Saylor framed Bitcoin's increasing adoption by exchange-traded funds, corporate treasuries and regulated custodians as an evolution rather than a departure from its original principles.

Bitcoin Rally Liquidates Shorts and Lifts Crypto Market

Bitcoin's move above $80,000 marked its highest level since mid-May and extended its weekly gain to roughly 25%.

The surge reportedly liquidated more than $260 million in short positions within four hours, while total daily crypto liquidations approached $650 million.

Technical momentum also improved. Market observers noted that Bitcoin had moved above its 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages against the dollar and several traditional assets.

The rally spread across the broader crypto market. Ether climbed above $2,500.