Strategy Resumes Bitcoin Buying as ‘Golden Cross’ Flashes and CLARITY Act Reaches Senate Markup

Strategy Inc. is back in the market. After a two-week pause that left some shareholders questioning whether Michael Saylor’s accumulation machine had finally found a ceiling, the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder disclosed Monday that it bought 535 BTC for $43 million between May 4 and May 10, paying an average of $80,340 per coin. The purchase, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, lifts Strategy’s total holdings to 818,869 BTC, acquired at an aggregate cost of $61.86 billion — roughly $75,540 per coin.

It was Strategy’s first acquisition since April 27, when it paid $255 million for 3,273 BTC, and the first since chairman Michael Saylor used the company’s first-quarter earnings call to float the prospect of periodic bitcoin sales to fund dividend payments — comments that drew an immediate negative reaction from a market already nervous about supply overhang. Saylor hinted on Sunday that purchases would resume.

Investors took the announcement well. MSTR shares climbed 4.3% in pre-market trading to change hands above $187.50, extending a year-to-date gain of 23%, according to TradingView data. Bitcoin was up 1% on the news to just under $82,000.

Bitcoin is holding at just under $82,000, Source: BNC

The acquisition itself was financed almost entirely through equity issuance, with $42.9 million coming from sales of Class A common stock and the remaining $100,000 from issuance of Stretch (STRC) preferred shares, the filing shows. The structure mirrors the flywheel Strategy has refined since 2020: print stock, buy bitcoin, repeat.

What has changed is the rhetoric. On the Q1 call, Saylor told analysts the company would “probably sell some bitcoin” to demonstrate that disciplined sales need not undermine either the company or the broader market — a move he framed as a way to “inoculate” investors. Critics warned that even periodic sales from the largest corporate treasury could trigger cascading liquidations. Defenders, including bitcoin advocate Samson Mow, argued the optionality gives Strategy room to maneuver.

A technical setup turns bullish

The timing of Strategy’s return is being read alongside a brightening technical picture. Bitcoin’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio is on the cusp of crossing above its 200-day exponential moving average for the first time since 2023 — a so-called “golden cross” that has preceded two of the past cycle’s largest rallies, according to CryptoQuant analyst CW8900.

“A golden cross between the $BTC MVRV Ratio and the 200D EMA line is imminent,” CW8900 wrote in an X post on Sunday, describing the signal as “a representative trend reversal signal and a bullish indicator.”

A golden cross on Bitcoin is imminent. Is a Bitcoin bull run coming? Source: X

History gives the call some teeth. The previous MVRV golden cross, formed shortly after the November 2022 cycle bottom, preceded a 90% bitcoin rally from $16,300 to $31,000 in the first quarter of 2023. A second crossover in September 2023 preceded the 400% advance that carried bitcoin to its $126,198 all-time high reached on October 6, 2025. A third confirmation now, with bitcoin trading near $81,200, would mark only the third such signal in three years.

Other on-chain indicators line up. Short-term holder (STH) cost basis bands, which track the average purchase price of coins held for fewer than 155 days, show the “heated” band sitting at $92,000 and the “overheated” band at $104,000 — levels representing roughly 13% and 28% upside respectively before historically reliable profit-taking pressure intensifies.

The bullish chorus has produced specific price targets, with several analysts now pointing to a “supercycle” trajectory toward $180,000–$250,000 within the year. The immediate test, however, sits closer: bitcoin’s 200-day moving average at $82,500. A clean break would invalidate the multi-month downtrend; a rejection, analysts warn, opens the door to a retest of $50,000.

Washington adds a third catalyst

Behind the technical setup is a policy backdrop that has shifted decisively in crypto’s favor over the past fortnight. The Senate Banking Committee announced last week that it will hold its long-awaited markup hearing for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act on Thursday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. — the first full committee vote on comprehensive crypto market structure legislation in US history.

The path was cleared by a bipartisan compromise reached on May 1 between Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), under which passive stablecoin yield economically equivalent to a bank deposit will be prohibited, while activity-based rewards tied to transactions, trading volume or platform use will be permitted. The split-the-baby drafting was endorsed by Coinbase, Circle and the Crypto Council for Innovation, and reluctantly accepted by the bank lobby — though the American Bankers Association has signaled it may push for further tightening to prevent deposit flight into stablecoins.

The political math has also shifted. A national HarrisX poll of 2,008 registered voters conducted May 1–4 found 52% support for the bill after a policy summary and only 11% opposition — a net approval margin of 41 points achieved despite 64% of respondents not previously having heard of the legislation. The polling result has, by several accounts, hardened resolve among wavering senators in both parties.

The bill is not yet law. It must clear committee, win a floor vote, and be reconciled with the House version that passed in July 2025 with 294 votes, before reaching President Trump’s desk. The White House has set July 4 as its target. Open issues remain, including a proposed ethics provision championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would bar senior government officials from profiting from the industries they regulate.

For Saylor and Strategy, the convergence is the point. A renewed buying program. A technical structure that has historically preceded triple-digit rallies. And the closest thing to a regulatory clearing event the asset class has had since the spot ETF approvals of January 2024. The pause, it turns out, was the anomaly.