Strategy Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) sale of 32 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was immaterial in size but not in signal, according to market-making firm Wintermute.

Why The 32 BTC Sale Mattered More Than The Number Suggests

Wintermute’s weekly market update laid out the sequence clearly.

Bitcoin’s bid had already thinned for weeks, retail was selling crypto to chase equities, and US institutions had quietly turned bearish.

The Saylor disclosure simply removed the last reason for bulls to hold on.

“32 BTC is immaterial. Saylor selling for the first time in four years, into a market already bleeding flows, is not,” Wintermute wrote. 

The firm noted Strategy had been an overhang for a month and the sale effectively forced a reckoning that the market needed to work through anyway.

On Wintermute’s OTC desk, retail has been a net seller for weeks while US institutions turned bearish over the past few days, with Asia and Europe balanced. 

The ETF data reinforces the picture, with May recording $2.43 billion in net outflows, the worst month of 2026.

Strong Jobs Data Made Everything Worse For Risk Assets

The macro backdrop compounded the pain. The US added 172,000 jobs in May against 80,000 expected, with April revised sharply higher. 

Job openings hit 7.6 million, the highest in nearly two years, and ISM services prices hit their highest since August 2022. The 10-year yield climbed to 4.55%.

“Good news is bad news again,” Wintermute wrote. A strong economy in this rate environment kills any near-term case for Fed cuts and keeps the restrictive path intact. 

The Nasdaq fell 4.7% on the week and the S&P (NYSE:SPY) posted its first weekly loss since March as AI names cracked alongside crypto.

Pompliano Says This Is One Of The Best Bear Markets In Bitcoin History

Speaking on CNBC, Anthony Pompliano argued bear markets are getting shallower each cycle and current metrics historically signal proximity to a bottom. 

The percentage of Bitcoin held at a loss now exceeds the percentage held at a profit, a signal that has marked prior cycle lows.

Pompliano pointed to Strategy and Strive’s dollar reserves as structural protection against forced selling, arguing both companies built cash buffers specifically to cover dividend obligations without touching their Bitcoin holdings through a downturn.

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