MicroStrategy just did what CEO Michael Saylor once said would never happen: it sold bitcoin

• MicroStrategy just sold some of its bitcoin holdings for the first time but remains a net buyer. 
• The company disclosed Wednesday a sale of 704 bitcoin last week for roughly $11.8 million for tax reasons. 
• "Never. No. We're not sellers," CEO Michael Saylor said in January. "We're only acquiring and holding bitcoin, right? That's our strategy."

MicroStrategy sold bitcoin for the first time, after CEO Michael Saylor said early this year that such a sale would never happen.

Citing tax reasons, the enterprise-software firm sold 704 bitcoins on December 22, yielding roughly $11.8 million, according to a Wednesday filing first reported by Bloomberg. 

But MicroStrategy remains a net buyer of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, purchasing 2,395 bitcoin tokens between November 1 and December 21 for $42.8 million. 

Still, the bitcoin sale comes despite Saylor's vow in January: "Never. No. We're not sellers," he told Bloomberg in an interview. "We're only acquiring and holding bitcoin, right? That's our strategy."

MicroStrategy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

In late 2020, MicroStrategy became the first publicly traded company in the US to buy and hold bitcoin as part of its balance sheet.

It has since continued to add to its stockpile, even taking out billions of dollars in debt to buy more bitcoin. As of December 27, MicroStrategy held close to 132,500 bitcoin worth $4 billion, and paid a rough average of $30,397 per token. 

MicroStrategy is the largest corporate buyer of bitcoin, which has plummeted 64% year to date and now trades just over $16,600.

The firm denied rumors in June that a $205 million loan backed by bitcoin had been margin called, after the firm's chief investment officer warned of such an occurrence if bitcoin fell below $21,000.