• Shares of Michael Saylor's Strategy drop 4.4% after the company discloses it sold 3,588 bitcoin last week

• MSTR's bitcoin purchases and sales have become a key barometer of sentiment toward the crypto industry

• Any sale is often interpreted as a sign that confidence in the sector is weakening, a perception that can in turn weigh on MSTR's own prospects

• "Sell a kidney if you must, but keep the Bitcoin," Saylor, one of bitcoin's most influential evangelists, once posted on X

• MSTR is still the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, however

• The bitcoin accumulator had nearly $52 bln worth of bitcoin on its balance sheet, as of Sunday, according to Reuters calculations based on company filings

• The stock has lost over a third of its value so far this year

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)