Bitcoin experienced a significant surge, surpassing the $81,000 mark during Asian trading hours on Tuesday, according to data from CoinDesk. This increase of 6.7% over the week coincided with a broader appetite for risk in financial markets, in part due to easing tensions related to Iran and a renewed interest in artificial intelligence. Other major cryptocurrencies also benefited from this upward momentum, with Solana climbing 3% to $87.35 and Dogecoin rising 4% to $0.1158, extending its weekly gains to a notable 14.5%. XRP, BNB, and TRX also saw positive movement in their values.
In contrast, Ethereum struggled as it was down 0.3% over the previous 24 hours, although the asset still maintained a 3.9% gain on the week, holding at $2,376. Notably, Ethereum ETF flows turned negative last week, marking the end of a three-week inflow streak.
On Wall Street, stock markets reached new heights following President Donald Trump’s announcement of progress toward a “final agreement” regarding Iran and a temporary pause on Operation Project Freedom. Consequently, Brent crude oil prices fell 1.7%, trading around $108 a barrel. The U.S. dollar, previously sought as a safe haven amid conflicts, weakened against all G-10 currencies.
Asian equities also followed suit, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index climbing 1.8% to achieve all-time highs on Wednesday morning. South Korea’s Kospi skyrocketed over 6% to a record level, buoyed by a staggering 15% jump in Samsung Electronics, which now boasts a market valuation of $1 trillion—making it only the second Asian company to surpass that threshold. The technology sector’s positive earnings reports from firms like Advanced Micro Devices and Super Micro Computer fueled momentum in AI-related trading, contributing to a 0.6% rise in Nasdaq 100 futures.
A pivotal development arose during the Q1 2026 earnings call of Strategy, where executive chairman Michael Saylor indicated that the company might sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings to meet dividend payments. With 818,334 BTC acquired at an average cost of $75,537, this would mark the first time the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder has decided to sell part of its stash. Saylor’s rationale behind the sale was to provide confidence to the market, stating, “We will probably sell some bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it.”
The company reported a $12.54 billion net loss for Q1, largely attributed to Bitcoin’s decline from its October peak of $126,000. Additionally, Strategy faces roughly $1.5 billion in annual dividend obligations via preferred stock and outstanding debt, with about 18 months of reserves to meet these commitments at current operational run-rates. Following the announcement, shares of MSTR dropped over 4% in after-hours trading, causing Bitcoin to momentarily fall below $81,000 before clawing back up.
Saylor maintained that this movement should be viewed as an integral part of the company’s long-term strategy rather than a deviation from their longstanding buy-and-hold approach. He clarified, “You buy bitcoin with credit, you let it appreciate, and then you sell bitcoin to pay the dividend,” diverging from the previously established practice of raising additional capital through debt or equity to fulfill financial obligations without touching their Bitcoin assets.
