Bitcoin Surges Past $81K, Strategy’s $1.5B Dividend Payment Plan Shocked the Market

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<a href="https://jpyeur.com/btc-usd/">Bitcoin</a> tops $81,000 as Strategy mulls selling its <a href="https://minority-mindset.com/btc-usd/">BTC</a> to fund dividend obligationsMarkets

What to know:

  • Bitcoin surged above $81,000 alongside record-setting global equities as easing Iran tensions and renewed AI optimism fueled a broad risk-on rally.
  • Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, signaled it may sell part of its 818,334-BTC stash for the first time to help fund dividend payments, sending its shares lower in after-hours trading.
  • Ether lagged the crypto advance amid a turn to net outflows from spot ETH exchange-traded funds, even as other major tokens including Solana and dogecoin posted solid gains.

Bitcoin surged above $81,000 during trading in Asia on Tuesday, according to CoinDesk. This represents a 6.7% increase for the week, fueled by growing investor confidence – similar to what’s driving stock market gains – as concerns about Iran ease and excitement about artificial intelligence returns.

Other major cryptocurrencies also saw price increases. Solana jumped 3% to $87.35, while Dogecoin rose another 4% to $0.1158, bringing its weekly gains to 14.5% with high trading volume. XRP, BNB, and TRX all finished the day with positive gains.

Ether is currently down slightly, trading at $2,376, with a 0.3% decrease over the last day. However, it’s still up 3.9% for the week. Recent performance has been impacted by a shift in spot ETH ETF flows, which turned negative last week after three weeks of gains.

As a crypto investor, I was watching the markets closely today. Wall Street actually hit record highs – apparently, Trump hinted at a deal with Iran and temporarily paused something called ‘Operation Project Freedom.’ That news, combined with oil prices dropping about 1.7% to around $108 a barrel, seems to have shifted things. The dollar, which everyone was running to for safety during the recent tensions, actually got weaker compared to other major currencies. It’s interesting to see how geopolitical events can impact everything, and I’m keeping a close eye on how this might affect crypto.

Asian stock markets reached a new high on Wednesday morning, with the overall MSCI Asia Pacific index climbing 1.8%. South Korea’s main stock index, the Kospi, saw a significant increase of over 6%, hitting a record high. Driving this growth was Samsung Electronics, which jumped 15% in value, reaching a $1 trillion market capitalization – making it only the second Asian company to achieve this milestone.

Good financial results from Advanced Micro Devices and Super Micro Computer are boosting investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks, causing Nasdaq 100 futures to rise by 0.6%.

During Strategy’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, executive chairman Michael Saylor announced the company might sell some of its Bitcoin to help pay dividends to shareholders.

“We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it,” Saylor said.

The company holding the most bitcoin worldwide – currently 818,334 coins, purchased at an average price of $75,537 each – has never sold any of its holdings. Their strategy has always been to buy and keep the bitcoin for the long term.

As a crypto investor, I’m watching Strategy closely, and their recent first quarter wasn’t great. They reported a $12.54 billion loss, largely because of the drop in Bitcoin’s price from its high last October. Basically, the way they value their assets on paper took a hit. They have about $1.5 billion in payments they need to make each year to shareholders and lenders, but thankfully they currently have enough cash on hand to cover those payments for around 18 months, given their current spending.

After the announcement, MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock dropped more than 4% in after-hours trading, and Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below $81,000 before bouncing back.

Saylor framed the move as a feature of the model rather than a break from it.

“You buy bitcoin with credit, you let it appreciate, and then you sell bitcoin to pay the dividend.”

This quarter marks a shift in approach. Unlike previous strategies, we’re choosing not to finance our needs by issuing more debt or selling equity, and instead are focusing on utilizing our existing Bitcoin holdings.

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2026-05-06 07:25