Tom Lee Says Strategy’s 32-Bitcoin Sale, ETF Outflows Are Typical Bottom Signals

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said Strategy’s recent Bitcoin sale and outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are typical of market bottoms rather than a sign of structural risk. Despite mounting market anxiety, the company’s long-term holding strategy does not appear to be broken, he said.

Lee recently described concern over institutional fund flows and insider selling as “typical bottom behavior,” CoinDesk reported on June 2.

On Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor’s sale of 32 Bitcoin, Lee said, “Michael said he planned to sell Bitcoin, and he did what he said he would do.” He added that Saylor still holds 99.99% of his Bitcoin and still profits if the token rises.

Strategy recently sold 32 Bitcoin at an average price of $77,135 to raise funds for preferred stock dividend payments. The sale totaled about $2.5 million. It was the company’s first publicly disclosed Bitcoin sale in about four years, raising concerns that Saylor may be moving away from his long-term holding stance.

The transaction was small relative to Strategy’s total holdings. The company still owns more than 843,700 Bitcoin, and the latest sale amounted to about 0.004% of that position. CoinDesk said Wall Street analysts also viewed the deal as not economically meaningful to Strategy’s core accumulation strategy.

Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows were also interpreted as a sign of a market bottom. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows for 11 straight trading sessions, with total withdrawals reaching $3.4 billion. That was the longest streak of net outflows since the products launched in January 2024.

Lee said such ETF outflows are typical near a bottom. “This is what you would expect at a bottom,” he said. “People sell at the bottom.”

He said delayed selling and fund outflows can emerge as the market resets. Despite short-term price pressure and market unease, BitMine’s broader strategy has not changed. Its plan to accumulate Ether is also moving ahead as scheduled.

BitMine expanded its Ether purchases last week. The company bought 111,942 ETH worth about $237 million, bringing its holdings to about 5.4 million ETH. That amounts to about 4.47% of Ether’s circulating supply.

Strategy’s small sale and continued ETF outflows have weighed on short-term Bitcoin sentiment. Some long-term investors, however, view them as lagging sell signals that tend to emerge near market bottoms. The key question is whether ETF flows return to net inflows and whether Bitcoin can reclaim the $70,000 level.