GM, Crypto Briefers!

December is off to a rough start. Bitcoin dumped from $91K to $84K after Japan’s central bank hinted at new rate hikes, dragging risk assets down with it. Meanwhile, November closed with nearly $3.5 billion in net outflows from US spot BTC ETFs—their worst monthly performance since February. Add to that a broader crypto market drawdown, and December isn’t exactly looking festive yet.

As if things weren’t rough enough, Strategy CEO Phong Le just added another layer of caution. While reaffirming that selling Bitcoin isn’t the plan, he admitted they’d consider it if the stock falls below net asset value and access to capital dries up. Strategy’s payout obligations are growing, and even as they continue buying BTC, Le made it clear that discipline—not diamond hands—will drive their next move.

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Bitcoin drops to $84K on BOJ hike risk and ETF bleed

Bitcoin dropped from $91K to $84K Monday morning after hawkish comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda spooked global markets. Ueda said the BOJ may hike rates in December, rattling risk-on assets. The S&P 500 opened down 0.45% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%, dragging risk assets across the board—and Bitcoin wasn’t spared, falling nearly 7% from Sunday’s high.

To close out November, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $3.48B in net outflows—their worst month since February. Ethereum ETFs weren’t much better, posting $1.42B in net outflows despite a five-day inflow streak.

Strategy sees BTC sale as fallback if capital dries up

Strategy CEO Phong Le says selling BTC isn’t the plan—unless mNAV breaks. In an interview, Le said they’d only consider selling if Strategy’s stock trades below net asset value and capital markets shut down. The goal is to protect BTC-per-share metrics and avoid highly dilutive equity raises. Strategy now owes $750M to $800M annually in fixed payouts tied to preferred shares.

Even so, the company announced earlier today that it bought another 130 BTC for $11.7 million in late November, bringing its total holdings to 650,000 BTC—now worth around $56 billion.