SpaceX Held Bitcoin in Q2; Why Unleveraged Model Is More Bullish for Market Outlook Than MicroStrategy?

TradingKey - Unlike MicroStrategy, SpaceX kept its Bitcoin holdings unchanged in the second quarter, easing market sell-off pressure.

On August 4, Eastern Time, SpaceX ( SPCX) released its first quarterly earnings report since its listing during post-market hours. Overall, the company's revenue performance was strong, exceeding Wall Street expectations, and its losses narrowed significantly. However, total capital expenditure (CapEx) reached a staggering $18.4 billion, while CapEx for AI computing infrastructure hit $15.8 billion, accounting for as high as 85% of total CapEx, a metric that also triggered market panic.

Although SpaceX remains in a loss-making state and its astronomical capital expenditure has severely eroded free cash flow, the company remains firm in not selling its Bitcoin ( BTC ), preventing further panic in the crypto market. As of press time, SpaceX holds 18,700 BTC, ranking 12th globally in size, surpassing Coinbase ( COIN ), Riot Platforms ( RIOT) and other crypto enterprises.

Some entities holding Bitcoin, Source: CoinGecko

Between July 27 and August 2 this year, MicroStrategy, the company with the largest Bitcoin holdings, ( MSTR) sold a total of 1,638 Bitcoins, cashing out over $100 million to maintain liquidity for its balance sheet and high-yield securities. This included paying semi-monthly cash dividends on its Series A perpetual preferred stock, repurchasing preferred stock at a discount to reduce future dividend and interest expense burdens, and replenishing cash flow, among other purposes.

MicroStrategy has long been seen as a symbol of super-bullish faith in 'never selling Bitcoin.' Its sudden move to start selling was interpreted by some traders as a loosening of the bullish creed and a sell-off signal, igniting short-term panic and causing the Bitcoin price to plunge to around $62,000 at one point.

Compared to MicroStrategy's highly leveraged capital operations model, SpaceX's unleveraged treasury model offers greater and more sustainable positive benefits to the long-term price health of Bitcoin and the overall market structure. At the very least, it will not be forced to sell Bitcoin due to financial issues, with the root cause being that their different funding sources determine whether a sell-off risk exists.