Saylor says Strategy is shifting from promoting corporate bitcoin balance sheet adoption to marketing STRC as its core funding vehicle.
Institutional interest in Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) preferred securities is building at a time when the company’s common stock, MSTR, remains one of the market’s most-watched bearish trades tied to Bitcoin. The clearest signal came this week, when Prevalon Energy and Anchorage Digital said at Strategy World 2026 that they had each allocated part of their […]
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Strategy (MSTR) has moved to the very top of Wall Street’s crowded-short leaderboard, according to a Goldman Sachs screen of the 50 stocks above $25 billion with the largest short interest as a percentage of market cap, a positioning shift that matters for the market because MSTR has effectively become a listed, levered proxy for Bitcoin exposure. Wall Street Crowds Into Shorts On Strategy In Goldman’s table, Strategy ranks No. 1 with short interest equal to 14% of market cap, ahead of Charter Communications at 12%. CoreWeave and Coinbase follow at 11% each, with Kimberly-Clark next at 10%. After that, the list compresses quickly: Western Digital, Bloom Energy, Dell, Palo Alto Networks, and International Paper all sit at 8%. Related Reading: The Saylor Discount: Why Bitcoin Trading Below Strategy’s Realized Price is a Gift for Late-Cycle Allocators The screen adds context on size and hedge-fund footprint. Strategy shows an equity cap of roughly $34 billion, with 53 hedge funds owning the stock as of 31-Dec-2025. Hedge funds owned about 3% of Strategy’s equity cap at both 30-Sep-2025 and 31-Dec-2025, and the table shows a (18)% total return year-to-date for the period captured, alongside 0 average days of volume to liquidate the hedge-fund position. By comparison, Charter sits around $30 billion in equity value with 62 hedge funds owning it, also at roughly 3% hedge-fund ownership on both dates, and a 15% YTD return, with 2 days to liquidate. CoreWeave shows a different profile: about $39 billion in equity cap, 62 hedge funds owning it, and high hedge-fund ownership—27% at 30-Sep-2025 dropping to 23% by 31-Dec-2025—with 33% YTD return and 4 days to liquidate. Coinbase appears at roughly $37 billion equity cap with 72 hedge funds owning it, about 2% hedge-fund ownership on both dates, a (27)% YTD return, and 0 days to liquidate. That dynamic is exactly what Fundstrat’s Tom Lee pointed to in a post on X, framing heavy shorting as a positioning signal rather than a fundamental verdict. “More signs of a meaningful low in place,” Lee wrote. “When a stock becomes a ‘consensus’ short, it is also a crowded trade… Hence, a stock can rise on ‘bad news’ because the bad news is priced in.” Related Reading: Strategy Unfazed By Bitcoin Crash, Michael Saylor Vows Quarterly Purchases Brian Brookshire, advisor to Moirai Capital and former Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Swedish firm H100, added: “I suspect a lot of this short interest is still MSTR / BTC basis trade. Jane Street, in particular, has recently acquired a conspicuously large IBIT position. All bets are off when, not if, the BTC bull market returns. mNAV expansion during BTC’s ascent is a spectacular thing.” Saylor’s Message To Bears: “Short us” Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor has been unusually direct about what the company is and what it is not, trying to be for the market. In a prior interview, he argued that heavy short interest is a natural consequence of a company choosing to be a pure expression of a Bitcoin-heavy balance sheet. “You know, my real aspiration now is, if you really hate Bitcoin, I want you to love us,” Saylor said. “Like, we’re the perfect instrument to short, right? Because I promise you I won’t sell it, right? We’re going to be levered long Bitcoin. And if you don’t like it, or if you just want to hedge it, you get to sell our stock or sell puts or buy puts, right?” Saylor’s point wasn’t simply that shorts are welcome, it was that Strategy’s posture is designed to be legible. “We have been laser-like focused. We’re very consistent. We’re very transparent,” he said, before reiterating the operating promise: “We’re going to buy Bitcoin, never sell Bitcoin. We’re going to borrow money intelligently.” For Bitcoin-native investors, the practical takeaway is that MSTR’s equity has become a high-conviction battleground for BTC exposure: longs treat it as an amplified bet on BTC and capital markets access, while shorts treat it as the cleanest way to fade that package. At press time, MSTR traded at $127.80. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has become the public market’s most widely traded Bitcoin proxy, using equity, convertible notes, and preferred stock to build a balance sheet dominated by the top crypto. However, as Bitcoin trades near $68,000 and Strategy shares hover below $130, investors are paying closer attention to the mechanisms that allow the company to […]
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Michael Saylor, the outspoken Bitcoin (BTC) advocate and Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) co-founder, said on Tuesday that the company remains firmly committed to its long‑standing Bitcoin strategy, despite growing concerns about its financial risks. Strategy Will Buy Bitcoin Every Quarter Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Saylor said Strategy plans to continue buying Bitcoin on a regular basis, regardless of price swings or skepticism from market observers. He said the company intends to add to its Bitcoin holdings every quarter and has no plans to reverse course. “I expect we’ll be buying bitcoin every quarter forever,” Saylor said. Related Reading: Strategy Expands Bitcoin Holdings With $90M Purchase, Bitmine Follows With ETH Addressing concerns about the company’s debt load, Saylor was dismissive of the idea that a prolonged Bitcoin downturn could threaten Strategy’s finances. He said that even in a severe scenario, the company would manage its obligations through refinancing. “If Bitcoin falls 90% for the next four years, we’ll refinance the debt,” he said. “We’ll just roll it forward.” Strategy currently carries more than $8 billion in total debt, much of it tied to convertible notes the company issued to fund Bitcoin purchases. Despite this leverage, Saylor said he believes lenders will continue to support the company even if Bitcoin prices decline sharply. Asked whether banks would still be willing to lend under those circumstances, he replied that Bitcoin’s inherent volatility does not undermine its long‑term value. “Yeah,” he said, “because the volatility of Bitcoin is such that it’s always going to be a value.” Saylor also rejected any suggestion that Strategy might be forced to sell its Bitcoin holdings to shore up its balance sheet. He emphasized that liquidation is not part of the company’s plan and reiterated his belief in Bitcoin as a long‑term asset. Short Sellers Increase Bets Market sentiment around Strategy, however, has grown more cautious. Short interest in the company’s stock has risen sharply, increasing about 40% from a low point in September 2025, according to an analysis published by Barron’s. Roughly 30.5 million shares are now sold short, representing about 10% of the company’s public float. At the same time, long‑term investors have pulled back, with Strategy’s shares, MSTR, falling around 70% to current trading prices of $134. Related Reading: Bernstein Calls Bitcoin Crash A ‘Crisis Of Confidence,’ Maintains $150,000 Target Despite the pressure on its stock, Strategy remains the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. According to figures published on the company’s website, it holds 714,644 BTC, valued at approximately $49 billion at the time of writing. Saylor also noted that the company has sufficient liquidity to support its obligations, stating that Strategy has roughly two and a half years’ worth of cash on its balance sheet to cover dividend payments. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at around $69,192, registering losses of nearly 8% over the past seven days and 3% over the past 24 hours. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Strategy continues expanding its bitcoin holdings even as its treasury value sits below total acquisition cost following the recent pullback.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is continuing its long‑standing Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation strategy despite ongoing market weakness and growing concerns around the firm’s unrealized losses. At the same time, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, chaired by well‑known market strategist Tom Lee, has revealed a major expansion of its Ethereum (ETH) holdings, underscoring a broader trend of corporate crypto accumulation even as prices remain under pressure. Strategy Adds 1,142 BTC Despite Rising Losses In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed on Monday, Strategy reported the purchase of an additional 1,142 Bitcoin for approximately $90 million. The acquisition was made between February 2 and February 8 at an average price of $78,815 per coin, according to the company’s 8‑K filing with the regulator. The move extends Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin buying campaign, even as the value of its massive crypto treasury remains below its total acquisition cost on paper. Related Reading: After Predicting XRP’s Drop, Analyst Says The Bottom May Be In With the latest purchase, Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings have climbed to 714,644 BTC, a position currently valued at roughly $49 billion based on prevailing market prices. The company has spent about $54.4 billion to build its Bitcoin reserves, including fees and related expenses. Across all acquisitions, Strategy’s average purchase price now stands at $76,056 per Bitcoin, well above current trading prices. Concerns around Strategy’s balance sheet have resurfaced amid the recent Bitcoin sell‑off. As previously reported by NewsBTC, CEO Phong Le stated that Bitcoin would need to fall by roughly 90% from current levels for the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings to merely match the value of its outstanding convertible debt. Even under such an extreme scenario, Le said the company would explore restructuring options if converting the debt into equity were not feasible. Bitmine’s Crypto And Cash Holdings Reach $10B On Monday, Bitmine disclosed that its combined crypto holdings, cash, and so‑called “moonshot” investments now total approximately $10 billion. As of February 8, the company’s crypto portfolio includes 4,325,738 ETH valued at $2,125 per token, alongside 193 Bitcoin. Beyond cryptocurrencies, Bitmine reported additional investments including a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, a $19 million stake in Eightco Holdings (ORBS), and total cash reserves of $595 million. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Set To Break Out Against Bitcoin, But How High Can It Go? The company noted in a Monday press release that its Ethereum holdings represent approximately 3.58% of the total ETH supply, which currently stands at around 120.7 million tokens. Thomas Lee, Executive Chairman of Bitmine, said the company acquired 40,613 ETH over the past week alone. He described the recent pullback in Ethereum prices as an attractive opportunity, arguing that the market is underestimating ETH’s long‑term utility. Bitmine also revealed that a significant portion of its Ethereum holdings is actively staked. As of February 8, 2026, the company had 2,897,459 ETH staked, valued at approximately $6.2 billion at current prices. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $69,495, reflecting an almost 11% decline over the past week. Strategy’s shares showed a modest rebound, rising 0.82% on Monday to trade around $136 per share. Bitmine’s stock, BMNR, also moved higher, climbing roughly 2% during Monday’s session to trade near $20.91. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Strategy’s leadership is pushing back against growing concerns that the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin (BTC) could face serious financial stress as the cryptocurrency’s price continues to slide. Speaking after the company released its fourth‑quarter results, CEO Phong Le sought to reassure investors that the firm remains well-positioned, even as Bitcoin fell close to $60,000 on Thursday. Bitcoin Sell‑Off Tests Strategy’s Financial Resilience Bitcoin dropped roughly 50% since reaching all‑time highs of $126,000 in October of last year, a period during which Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, was aggressively accumulating the digital asset. The sell‑off has weighed heavily on the company’s share price. Strategy’s stock, trading under the ticker MSTR, sank to about $104 on Thursday, its lowest level since August 2024, after plunging more than 17% during the session. Related Reading: Bitcoin Crash Exposes Colossal Corporate Losses — Here’s Who’s Most Impacted For now, investors are focused on two key factors: the price of Bitcoin itself and Strategy’s ability to meet its financial obligations if the downturn deepens. Those questions loomed large as founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le addressed analysts during the firm’s earnings call. Much of the attention centered on how Strategy would navigate a prolonged “Bitcoin winter,” should one materialize. Saylor has already taken steps to bolster the company’s financial flexibility, including raising a $2.25 billion cash reserve to cover preferred dividend payments totaling $888 million annually. However, investors remain uneasy about the company’s $8.2 billion in low‑ and zero‑interest convertible bonds, which could begin facing early redemptions starting in September 2027, particularly now that MSTR shares have fallen sharply. Politics, Leverage, And Valuation In Focus Saylor reiterated that the company is keeping its options open, including the possibility of selling Bitcoin if market conditions require it. He also framed crypto investing as inseparable from politics, pointing to President Donald Trump’s pro‑crypto stance and noting that Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve (Fed) chair, Kevin Warsh, is viewed as supportive of digital assets. Still, Bitcoin fell through its post‑2024 election lows on Thursday, reflecting skepticism that the federal government will actively support Bitcoin purchases. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced those doubts this week, telling Congress he lacks the authority to rescue Bitcoin markets. On the balance‑sheet front, CEO Phong Le addressed worries about Strategy’s leverage. He said the company operates with roughly one‑third the leverage of a typical high‑yield firm. Related Reading: Bitcoin Crashes Below $67,000 As Stifel Warns Of Potential Drop To $38,000 According to Le, Bitcoin would need to decline by about 90% for Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves to merely equal the value of its convertible debt. Even in that extreme scenario, he said, the company would explore restructuring options if it could not convert the debt into equity. Strategy’s own disclosures show an enterprise value of about $49.95 billion, compared with roughly $45.33 billion worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet. Enterprise value includes the company’s market capitalization, preferred shares, and convertible bonds, minus cash. If Bitcoin drops once again near $63,000, Strategy’s market cap of $35.57 billion would need to fall about 13% from its recent closing price of $106.99 to eliminate the valuation premium over its Bitcoin holdings. However, since Thursday’s crash, both Bitcoin and Strategy’s stock have made a significant recovery. Bitcoin, for example, has surged to around $69,256. MSTR has recovered above $130, marking a 20% increase in less than 24 hours and offering short-term relief. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
TD Cowen analysts said Strategy remains structurally positioned to endure a prolonged bitcoin downturn despite MSTR's pullback.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) sharp sell‑off has intensified pressure on Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, even as it continues to expand its already massive cryptocurrency holdings. On Monday, the firm disclosed another BTC purchase at a time when prices were sliding to levels not seen in almost a year. Strategy Adds Bitcoin During Market Sell‑Off According to a securities filing released on Monday, Strategy acquired an additional 855 Bitcoin over the prior seven days, paying an average price of about $87,974 per token. The transaction amounted to roughly $75.3 million and further increased the company’s exposure to Bitcoin. The timing of the purchase, however, coincided with a steep downturn in the broader crypto market. Bitcoin fell below Strategy’s average acquisition cost toward $74,500, adding to investor unease. Related Reading: What’s Next For Bitcoin? Two Key Scenarios: Will It Crash To $60,000 Or Surge To $100,000? That price sat slightly below Strategy’s reported average purchase price of $76,052 per Bitcoin, raising concerns that the company’s sizable holdings could move underwater if the decline deepens. Market reaction was swift. MSTR fell 8% on Monday as Bitcoin slid below that average cost level. When Bitcoin briefly sank to its lowest point since April 2024, the value of Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings stood at approximately $53.1 billion. A subsequent rebound toward around $79,000 lifted the valuation of the company’s Bitcoin position beyond $55 billion, offering some relief but little clarity on near‑term direction. Worst In The Nasdaq 100 So far, Strategy’s shares have suffered a steep decline. The stock is down 48% in 2025, making it the worst performer in the Nasdaq 100 index. For comparison, the second‑worst stock in the index, Charter Communications, has fallen 39% over the same period, underscoring the scale of Strategy’s underperformance. Amid these challenges, Strategy is also scheduled to release its fourth‑quarter 2025 results on Thursday. Wall Street expectations suggest modest top‑line pressure but a sharp improvement in profitability. The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for fourth‑quarter revenue of $119.6 million, representing a 0.91% decline from the same period a year earlier. Earnings, however, are projected at $46.02 per share, unchanged over the past month and a dramatic turnaround from a loss of $3.20 per share reported in the prior‑year quarter. Analysts expect the company’s fourth‑quarter performance to reflect continued financial momentum, driven largely by Bitcoin‑related gains and disciplined capital allocation. Related Reading: Crypto Hacks Explode: $370 Million Stolen In January Alone: Researchers By the end of January 2026, the firm’s Bitcoin holdings had climbed to approximately 712,647 BTC, up from 640,808 as of Oct. 26, 2025, further increasing its sensitivity to price movements in the digital asset. Still, recent share price performance highlights the risks tied to that strategy. Over the past three months, MSTR has fallen 43.4%, significantly underperforming the broader Finance sector, which gained 4.3% over the same period. The stock has also lagged other Bitcoin‑exposed companies. During that timeframe, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark and Coinbase Global posted declines of 25.3%, 32.0% and 41.1%, respectively, pointing to widespread weakness among Bitcoin proxy stocks, though none have fallen as sharply as Strategy. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Arthur Hayes is positioning for a 2026 liquidity rebound, arguing that Bitcoin’s weak 2025 wasn’t a referendum on “crypto narratives” so much as a straightforward dollar-credit story. In his latest essay, “Frowny Cloud,” the Maelstrom CIO says he is adding risk via Strategy (MSTR), Japan’s Metaplanet, and Zcash (ZEC) as he expects US dollar liquidity to inflect higher after a year in which Bitcoin lagged both gold and US tech stocks. Hayes frames 2025 as an awkward year for the standard cross-asset shorthand that treats Bitcoin as either digital gold or a high-beta proxy for US tech. In his telling, Bitcoin behaved “as expected” under tightening conditions, while gold and the Nasdaq 100 rose for different reasons despite falling dollar liquidity. Related Reading: Here’s Why Bitcoin Volatility Sparks Fresh Attention On MicroStrategy He argues gold’s bid is being driven by sovereign balance sheets rather than retail mania, rooted in distrust of US Treasury exposure after prior asset-freeze precedents. “If the US president steals your money, it’s an instant zero. Does it then matter what price you buy gold at?” he writes, casting central banks as price-insensitive buyers. On equities, Hayes leans into an industrial-policy interpretation of the AI trade. His claim is that the US and China have effectively treated “winning AI” as strategic, dulling the usual market discipline and helping explain why the Nasdaq decoupled from his dollar-liquidity index in 2025. That divergence matters because it sets up his core takeaway for 2026: Bitcoin needs expanding dollar liquidity to regain momentum. “Bitcoin and the Nasdaq rise when dollar liquidity expands. The only problem is the recent divergence,” Hayes writes, before returning to the “vicissitudes of dollar liquidity” as the primary driver he wants to track. The Three-Pillar Liquidity Pitch Hayes’ 2026 outlook hinges on a sharp rebound in dollar credit creation. He cites three channels: a growing Fed balance sheet via Reserve Management Purchases (RMP), commercial-bank lending into “strategic industries,” and lower mortgage rates catalyzed by policy-driven demand for mortgage-backed securities. In his account, quantitative tightening faded as a dominant headwind in late 2025, with QT ending in December and RMP beginning as a new, steady buyer. He claims RMP “at a minimum” expands the balance sheet by $40 billion per month, and expects that pace to rise as government funding needs increase. The second leg is bank credit creation, which he says accelerated in 4Q25, with large lenders willing to extend loans where government equity stakes or offtake agreements reduce default risk. The third is housing: Hayes points to Trump-backed directives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to deploy $200 billion toward MBS purchases, arguing that lower mortgage rates could unlock a familiar wealth effect and, by extension, more credit. Related Reading: Bitcoin Accumulation Continues: Strategy Purchases 1,287 BTC Amid Rising Prices He ties the pieces together with a simple conclusion: if liquidity turns, Bitcoin should follow. “Bitcoin … and dollar liquidity bottomed around the same time,” he writes, arguing that the next major leg depends less on sentiment than on renewed credit expansion. MSTR, Metaplanet, And ZCash Hayes describes himself as a “degen speculator” and says Maelstrom is already “nearly fully invested,” but he still wants “MOAR risk” to capture upside convexity if Bitcoin reclaims higher levels. Rather than using perpetuals or options, he says he’s long Strategy and Metaplanet for levered exposure via corporate balance sheets. His timing argument is valuation-relative: he compares each company’s “DAT” to Bitcoin priced in the relevant currency (yen for Metaplanet, dollars for Strategy) and says those ratios sit near the low end of the past two years, after being “down substantially” from mid-2025 peaks. He adds a key condition: “If Bitcoin can retake $110,000, investors will get the itch to go long Bitcoin through these vehicles. Given the leverage embedded in the capital structure of these businesses, they will outperform Bitcoin on the upside.” He also flags continued accumulation of Zcash. Hayes argues the departure of developers at Electric Coin Company (ECC) is not bearish: “We continue to add to our Zcash position. The departure of the devs at ECC is not bearish. I firmly believe they will ship better, more impactful products within their own for-profit entity. I’m thankful for the opportunity to buy discounted ZEC from weak hands.” At press time, MSTR traded at $179.33. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
The threat of a massive forced sell-off in crypto-linked equities has been averted. However, that reprieve comes with a structural catch that fundamentally alters the economics of the “Bitcoin Treasury” trade. On Jan. 6, the dominant benchmark provider for global equity and ETF markets, MSCI Inc., announced it will retain “Digital Asset Treasury Companies” (DATCOs) […]
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MSCI won’t drop firms like Strategy from indexes yet, but a broader rule change may still be on the table
In 2025, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) executed a capital markets feat that effectively cornered the supply of new Bitcoin, purchasing more coins than the global mining network produced for the entire year. Throughout the year, Strategy added approximately 225,027 BTC to its corporate treasury, bringing its total holdings to roughly 672,497 BTC. This purchasing campaign exceeded […]
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Over the past few months, Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy), the largest publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, has found itself at the center of a pressing issue that could lead to its exclusion from the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index. This potential move not only poses significant financial risks for the firm but could also have broader implications for the cryptocurrency sector, with analysts estimating that it could result in losses up to $9 billion in demand for its shares. Industry-Wide Consequences The MSCI proposed in October that companies holding digital assets comprising 50% or more of their total assets should be removed from its global benchmarks, arguing that such companies resemble investment funds, which are excluded from its indexes. However, many firms, including Strategy, assert that they are operational companies creating innovative products and argue that MSCI’s proposal is biased against the cryptocurrency industry. Related Reading: Solana (SOL) Support Shattered, Potential $100 Test Looms, Says Analyst MSCI is currently conducting a public consultation, and analysts warn that if it decides to exclude Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies, it could prompt other index providers to follow suit. “The conversation already extends beyond just MSCI… to the eligibility of DATs in equity indexes in general,” said Kaasha Saini, head of index strategy at Jefferies, who anticipates that most equity indexes will align with MSCI’s decisions. Asset managers are believed to hold as much as 30% of a large-cap company’s free float, leading to potentially significant outflows if these companies are dropped from major indexes. This situation is particularly precarious for the DAT sector, which often finances its token purchases by selling stock. The company’s CEO, Phong Le, and co-founder Michael Saylor addressed the potential MSCI exclusion in a public letter. They estimated that such a move could lead to $2.8 billion worth of the company’s stock being liquidated and may “chill” the entire industry. In their letter, they explained that excluding DATs could shut them out from the roughly $15 trillion passive investment market, drastically undermining their competitive standing. Major Outflows Predicted For Strategy Analysts at TD Cowen estimated in November that around $2.5 billion of Strategy’s market value is linked to MSCI, with an additional $5.5 billion reliant on other indexes. JPMorgan’s analysis suggested that if MSCI were to exclude Strategy, the company could see $2.8 billion in outflows, a figure that could rise to $8.8 billion if it faced exclusion from other indexes, such as the Nasdaq 100, the CRSP US Total Market Index, and various Russell indexes owned by LSEG. In addition to Strategy, MSCI’s preliminary list identifies 38 companies at risk of exclusion, with a combined issuer market cap of $46.7 billion as of September 30, including French firm Capital B, which is also investing in Bitcoin. Related Reading: Crypto Payments Firm MoonPay Set For $5 Billion Valuation With NYSE Owner’s Backing Alexandre Laizet, Capital B’s director of Bitcoin strategy, remarked that while the current holdings of passive funds in their shares are limited, having access to passive flows is crucial for future adoption. Matt Cole, CEO of US-based Bitcoin buyer Strive—which is not at risk of exclusion—notes that the proposals have largely been factored into market valuations. He added, “On a longer-term basis, I think it raises the cost of capital for all Bitcoin treasury companies.” At the time of writing, the firm’s stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MSTR, was trading at $165, marking gains of almost 4% ahead of the close of trading this week. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
The Bitcoin price volatility is once again drawing attention to MicroStrategy, the company whose strategy has become a major market reference point, with billions in accumulated BTC and a track record of aggressive buying during downturns. As traders search for stability in a shaky market, Strategy’s stance is being watched closely for what it might signal about the next phase of BTC’s trend. Why MicroStrategy’s Next Move Could Redirect Market Momentum Bitcoin’s recent volatility has put MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of BTC, in the limelight. Walter Bloomberg has revealed on X that analysts are watching closely to see if the company could influence the cryptocurrency’s price if it sells some of its holdings. Related Reading: Will Strategy Liquidate Bitcoin Holdings? CEO Provides Concerning Clues According to JPMorgan, Strategy can avoid forced sales as long as its enterprise value-to-BTC holdings ratio stays above 1.0, which currently stands at 1.13 BTC. However, analysts continue to debunk these claims, accusing JPMorgan of spreading misinformation about market manipulation and the company. Walter stated that if the ratio remains above this level, BTC markets may stabilize and ease recent market pressure. Due to the market pressure, the firm has slowed its BTC purchases, adding 9,062 BTC last month compared to 134,480 BTC a year ago, reflecting a more cautious accumulation approach amid a broader crypto downturn. Its stock has dropped roughly 42% over the past three months. Additionally, challenges include the potential exclusion from MSCI indices, which could trigger $8.8 billion in passive fund outflows if index funds are forced to divest. However, MicroStrategy holds a $1.4 billion reserve for dividends and interest, helping it avoid selling its BTC even if the price falls further. In the meantime, there is no proof that MicroStrategy is in danger of liquidation. How Institutional Behavior Builds A Higher Floor For Bitcoin In a market speculation, Bitcoin is currently experiencing one of the most significant capital migrations in its history, fueled by institutional adoption. Analyst Matthew noted that the current BTC market cycle from 2022 to 2025 has already absorbed an unprecedented amount of new capital, surpassing all previous BTC cycles. This growth is a reflection of the market’s maturity and the ecosystem’s innovative approach to liquidity through regulated instruments. Furthermore, the network has incorporated more than $732 billion in fresh capital in the current cycle, surpassing the $388 billion that was injected during the 2018 to 2022 cycle. At that time, the surge helped push BTC market capitalization to an all-time high record of $1.1 trillion, a metric that indicates a much higher aggregate cost base for new institutional investors. Related Reading: Why Bitcoin Traders Fear A Repeat Of July 2024’s Crash Next Week Meanwhile, the total settlement volume in the decentralized BTC protocol was approximately $6.9 trillion in just 90 days. Despite this, the number of active on-chain entities dropped from 240,000 to 170,000 per day, which is a reflection of liquidity migration of capital flows into spot ETFs. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
CryptoQuant’s latest report shows the company preparing for weaker conditions with smaller buys and a growing USD buffer, yet traders continue to price in a playbook built on reflexive accumulation.
Trading volume in Strategy shares surged to 42.9 million, the most since last December, as the price fell 3.25%.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, the largest public holder of Bitcoin (BTC), finds itself at the center of a stormy controversy involving JPMorgan as Bitcoin prices continue to struggle. With signs of a potential bear market emerging, fresh rumors suggest that one of the world’s largest banks allegedly holds a significant short position on Strategy’s stock (MSTR), which has plunged 69% from its record high of $543 per share last year. Strategy Faces Potential MSCI Exclusion The turmoil escalated last week when JPMorgan issued a warning that Strategy might soon be removed from major equity indices, specifically the MSCI USA Index. JPMorgan’s analysts noted that the issues facing Strategy extend beyond the recent downturn in cryptocurrency prices, which have seen Bitcoin fall more than 30% from its all-time highs. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading around $86,000, while the broader crypto market has experienced a staggering $1 trillion decline in total market capitalization over the past month. Related Reading: Why XRP Price Crash Below $2 Is Not A Problem – $20 Is Still The Target JPMorgan’s analysts indicated that MSCI is considering whether companies with over 50% of their total assets in digital currencies should qualify for inclusion in traditional equity indices. Given that Strategy’s balance sheet is heavily weighted with Bitcoin, it is at significant risk of exclusion. The analysts stated that “MicroStrategy [is] at risk of exclusion from major equity indices as the January 15th MSCI decision approaches.” They speculated that removal from the MSCI could trigger approximately $2.8 billion in outflows, and if other index providers follow MSCI’s lead, the total could reach as high as $8.8 billion. The situation is complicated by market dynamics, particularly the timing of JPMorgan’s bearish note, which coincided with Bitcoin’s weakness and MSTR’s decline, all while liquidity was thin and overall sentiment fragile. JPMorgan Faces Account Closures Surge According to analysts at the Bull Theory, JPMorgan has been noted for timing its market reports—bearing down when prices are already weak and striking a more bullish tone near market peaks. The analysts have highlighted that share lending for MSTR has reportedly increased, allowing brokers to lend shares to short sellers, which can exacerbate downward pressure on the stock price. Additionally, there are escalating reports of widespread account closures at JPMorgan, with thousands claiming to have exited due to perceived manipulation of both MSTR and Bitcoin. Related Reading: A Quiet Move In Bitcoin Options Is Starting To Raise Big Questions Amid these developments, the fear of a potential short squeeze is growing. The analysts believe that if Strategy’s stock were to rally around 40% to 50%, it could trigger a short squeeze in the bank’s position and spell major financial troubles. In response, Michael Saylor, the CEO of Strategy, has sought to clarify the company’s identity, emphasizing that it is not just a passive Bitcoin holder. He pointed out that Strategy operates as a software business with an active financial strategy, countering the narrative circulating around MSCI’s concerns. As the situation unfolds, several key points emerge. The October 10th crash appeared to align with the MSCI announcement, coinciding with an already fragile market state. JP Morgan’s strategic timing of its bearish insights has amplified existing fears, creating further uncertainty as MSCI’s final decision looms. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
For a while, owning Bitcoin was professionally awkward. Big asset managers couldn’t touch it, compliance teams didn’t know what to do with it, and internal mandates typically banned the direct custody of anything that looked like a bearer instrument. But equities? Equities were fine. That’s how MicroStrategy, a Virginia-based enterprise software firm, became the most […]
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Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is currently navigating the most complex regime in its four-year history as a corporate Bitcoin treasury. The company, which transformed itself from a steady enterprise software provider into the world’s largest corporate holder of BTC, is facing a convergence of headwinds that threaten the structural mechanics of its valuation. For years, the […]
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CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju pushed back on a renewed wave of forced Bitcoin liquidation and bankruptcy chatter around Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy, MSTR), arguing that the bearish thesis misreads the company’s capital structure and shareholder incentives. In a Nov. 20, 2025 post on X, Ju wrote, “MSTR only goes bankrupt if an asteroid hits Earth,” adding that critics should “bring a single piece of evidence” before claiming Michael Saylor would be liquidated. The comments came as Bitcoin and high-beta crypto proxies retraced into late November, reviving legacy narratives that Strategy’s debt stack could compel BTC sales. Why Strategy Will Never Sell Bitcoin Ju’s central claim is that Strategy is not structurally set up like a margin trader. Addressing the most common fear—that convertible notes “missing” their conversion price forces liquidation—he stated: “Convertible debt not reaching the conversion price is not liquidation. It simply means the notes get repaid in cash […] Failing to convert is not a bankruptcy trigger. It is just normal debt maturity.” Related Reading: Is The Bitcoin Bottom In? Fidelity Research Lead Weighs The Odds In his view, the repayment pathways are conventional corporate finance tools: refinancing, rolling into new notes, secured borrowing, or operating cash flow. That framing aligns with how convertibles function in practice; if equity is below strike at maturity, the embedded option expires and the instrument reverts to straight debt rather than a forced-sale event. He also grounded his argument in governance and identity. “Saylor would never sell Bitcoin unless shareholders want it,” Ju wrote, warning that “selling even a single BTC would destroy MSTR’s identity as a Bitcoin treasury company and trigger a death spiral for both Bitcoin and MSTR.” Strategy has repeatedly defined itself as a BTC-treasury vehicle, and its shareholder base largely bought into that mandate, making voluntary divestment politically and strategically improbable absent a radical shift in investor preference. Balance-sheet data underpins Ju’s confidence. Strategy reported 640,808 BTC as of Oct. 30, 2025, acquired for about $47.44 billion; subsequent filings cited major November additions taking holdings to roughly 649,870 BTC. Even after accounting for the growing convertible and preferred layers, the BTC treasury remains the dominant asset, meaning solvency stress would require an extreme, prolonged Bitcoin collapse rather than a cyclical drawdown. Related Reading: Why Bitwise Thinks Bitcoin Still Hits $200,000 In 2026 Ju did not claim the equity is risk-free. “This does not mean MSTR’s stock price will always stay high,” he wrote, but called the idea that Strategy would sell BTC to support the stock or face imminent bankruptcy “completely absurd.” He added that even at a price of $10,000 per coin, Strategy would face “a debt restructuring, nothing more.” On preferred shares, he acknowledged dividend obligations, noting payments have not been missed and can be covered via new share issuance—dilutive, but not a liquidation vector. Posting BTC as collateral, he said, would be a last resort because that would introduce real margin risk. In short, Ju’s rebuttal draws a hard line between volatility and insolvency: Strategy may trade like leveraged Bitcoin, but its liabilities do not mechanically force BTC sales. The “Saylor liquidation” narrative, he argues, is a Twitter myth unless the world ends—by asteroid. At press time, BTC traded at $82,050. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has found itself significantly exposed to the ongoing downturn in the cryptocurrency market, which has seen more than $1 trillion in total market capitalization wiped out over the past month. As the largest public holder of Bitcoin, with over 650,000 coins, the company is now facing the real threat of being removed from major benchmark indices, which have been crucial for its visibility in mainstream portfolios. Analysts Predict Major Impact On Strategy According to a recent Bloomberg report, analysts at JPMorgan Chase have issued a warning that Saylor’s firm may lose its standing in key indices such as MSCI USA and the Nasdaq 100. Related Reading: CEO Cuts Cardano Founder’s Bitcoin Price Forecast, Warns Bear Market Just Starting The analysts assert that this could result in passive outflows estimated between $2.8 billion and $8.8 billion if MSCI proceeds with a decision expected by January 15. Passive funds connected to the company currently account for nearly $9 billion in market exposure, making any index exclusion a substantial blow. Strategy’s business model has relied on a cyclical strategy of selling stock to buy Bitcoin, capitalizing on price rallies, and repeating this process. At its zenith, Saylor’s company’s market capitalization far exceeded the value of its Bitcoin holdings. However, that premium has evaporated, and the company’s valuation now aligns closely with its crypto reserves—a stark indication that investor confidence is fading rapidly. “While active managers are not bound to adhere to index changes, exclusion from major indices would undoubtedly be viewed negatively by market participants,” noted JPMorgan analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. Such a shift could affect liquidity, increase funding costs, and diminish overall investor appeal. MSCI Contemplates New Index Inclusion Rules In its ongoing consultations with stakeholders, MSCI indicated that some market players believe digital asset treasury firms (DATs) may function more like investment funds, which are ineligible for index inclusion. In accordance with these perspectives, MSCI has proposed excluding companies whose holdings in digital assets constitute 50% or more of their total assets from its global investment market indexes. Related Reading: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Bleeds Over $500 Million In Its Biggest One-Day Outflow Since peaking last November, Saylor’s firm has seen its shares (MSTR) decline by over 60%, causing a collapse in the premium that once attracted momentum and crypto-focused investors. Despite this slump, Saylor’s company remains up over 1,300% since he first began purchasing Bitcoin in August 2020, outperforming major equity indices throughout this period. The selloff has extended its reach into the company’s newer funding structures, as well. The prices of its perpetual preferred shares—an essential part of Saylor’s recent strategies—have seen sharp declines. Additionally, yields on securities issued in March have risen to 11.5%, up from a previous 10.5%. A recent euro-denominated preferred stock offering has already dropped below its discounted offering price in under two weeks. Michael Youngworth, head of global convertible bond strategy at Bank of America Global Research, remarked, “That premium has collapsed in recent weeks,” adding that the present situation makes capital raising increasingly challenging. Feature image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
TD Cowen analysts said potential catalysts like possible S&P 500 inclusion and clearer U.S. bitcoin rules could help steady investor demand.
Michael Saylor is explicitly telling markets that Strategy (MSTR) has been built to withstand a Bitcoin crash that would wipe out almost every other leveraged player in the ecosystem. In an interview with Grant Cardone streamed live on November 14 , the Strategy executive chairman drew a clear theoretical stress line for the company’s balance sheet and stated that even a catastrophic move lower in BTC would not force him to liquidate the core position. Strategy Can Eat A 90% Bitcoin Collapse Asked how far Bitcoin would have to fall before MicroStrategy faces real danger, Saylor answered with balance-sheet math rather than rhetoric. He pointed to roughly eight billion dollars of debt and tens of billions in equity value tied to Bitcoin, and then set the threshold: Bitcoin, he said, “would have to fall 90% from here for us to be sort of collateralized, to be one-on-one.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Indicator Sounds Buy Alarm For The First Time Since March — Return To $110K Soon? Even at that point, his first response would not be to sell BTC into a collapsing market. Instead, he described equity holders as the primary buffer. “We probably would dilute the equity, and so it would be bad for the equity,” he told Cardone, before stating the hierarchy even more bluntly: “The equity is going to be a loser.” By contrast, he framed liquidation as essentially off the table in any realistic bear market scenario. When Cardone pressed him on whether Strategy could be forced to unwind its Bitcoin position, Saylor answered flatly: “We’re not going to liquidate.” The bond side only enters the conversation in an almost total-loss scenario. “If Bitcoin fell to zero tomorrow forever, then the bonds would default,” Saylor said. He then compressed the entire risk profile into a single line: “If you think Bitcoin is going to go to $10,000, I think we’re good. If you think Bitcoin’s going to a dollar tomorrow forever, then yeah, the bonds would default.” Related Reading: How Low Can Bitcoin Price Go? JPMorgan Points To A Key Threshold That framing makes the structure very clear. Equity is a highly levered, high-beta claim on Bitcoin that can be diluted if necessary. Bondholders and holders of MicroStrategy’s various credit-like instruments only face real danger if Bitcoin essentially dies as an asset class. The 4-Year Cycle Is Dead Saylor also used the interview to distance himself from one of the core narratives many Bitcoin traders still live by: the four-year halving cycle. His view is that the mechanical supply cut may have helped shape earlier phases of Bitcoin’s monetization, but it is no longer the dominant driver of price in a market now intertwined with global macro and institutional flows. “I don’t believe in four-year cycles anyway,” Saylor said. “I never believed in the— I think that they might have had some credence in the first 12 years.” He then shifted straight to scale and order of magnitude. After [the last] halving, the reduction in new supply is on the order of a couple hundred BTC a day. In his translation, “225 Bitcoin a day get taken out of the supply after the next halving, that’s twenty million dollars or twenty-two million dollars of buying.” Against a spot and derivatives complex that can see tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars in notional volume in a single session, that number, he argued, is marginal. “Trust me, twenty million dollars of buying… is not even a third-order issue at this point,” he said. What matters now? “The dynamics in the market are much more that Jerome Powell thinks he wants to hold interest rates higher for longer. It’s macroeconomics. It’s political. It’s structural. When IBIT’s derivatives market went from $10 billion to $50 billion, it did that in four weeks. […] It’s the actions of the mega finance actors that are determining the future of Bitcoin right now, Saylor said. At press time, Bitcoin traded at $95,624. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
Dorman says fears that Strategy will be forced to sell bitcoin are misplaced, citing the firm’s balance sheet, governance and cash flow.
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has earned a reputation for making its weekly Bitcoin acquisitions near the local top in recent weeks. On Nov. 10, CryptoQuant analyst JA Marturn noted that the firm’s most recent acquisition disclosure from Michael Saylor followed the same script. According to an SEC filing, Strategy announced that it had acquired 487 BTC […]
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After years of relentless buying, Strategy Inc., the digital-asset treasury firm led by Michael Saylor, has quietly eased its pace of Bitcoin accumulation. In recent weeks, company filings have shown that its BTC purchases have fallen to only a few hundred coins, representing a sharp slowdown for the largest corporate holder of the flagship cryptocurrency. […]
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A quiet but historic moment has unfolded, which may reshape how traditional markets value digital assets like Bitcoin. For the first time, a major global rating agency has evaluated a company whose borrowing model is directly tied to BTC. On Oct. 27, S&P Global Ratings assigned Strategy Inc. (MSTR) a “B-” rating with a Stable […]
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Strategy Inc., the company led by Michael Saylor that rebranded from MicroStrategy, was hit with a junk credit grade on Monday as S&P Global Ratings flagged its heavy concentration in Bitcoin and weak dollar liquidity. Related Reading: Bitcoin Buzz: Michael Saylor Drops ‘Orange Dot Day’ Hint According to S&P, the firm’s balance sheet is tied closely to the price of Bitcoin and carries risks that traditional ratings models find hard to treat as stable collateral. Bitcoin Holdings Drive The Score Based on reports, Strategy’s Bitcoin stack is enormous — about 640,808 BTC on its books — worth roughly $73 billion to $74 billion at recent prices. S&P said that while the company owns a large digital-asset hoard, the volatility of that asset and the company’s limited cash flow make it risky under S&P’s credit rules. S&P assigned a B- issuer credit rating and kept the outlook stable. That B- places the company squarely in non-investment-grade territory, signaling a higher chance of stress if markets turn against it. S&P Global Ratings has assigned Strategy Inc a ‘B-‘ Issuer Credit Rating (Outlook Stable) — the first-ever rating of a Bitcoin Treasury Company by a major credit rating agency. https://t.co/WLMkFqkkCb — Michael Saylor (@saylor) October 27, 2025 Currency Mismatch And Debt Pressure Reports have disclosed that S&P was particularly concerned about a mismatch: most obligations are owed in US dollars, but most of the company’s value sits in Bitcoin. This gap can force the sale of Bitcoin to meet dollar payments if prices slide. Analysts and commentators pointed to sizable convertible securities and preferred-stock commitments that add cash demands on the company. According to filings and market write-ups, the firm faces billions of dollars in convertible and preferred obligations spread over coming years. Saylor and Strategy have made repeat purchases of Bitcoin as part of their stated plan. Those buys have created big unrealized gains on paper, but S&P’s methodology largely treats the token differently from traditional equity when measuring risk-adjusted capital. Liquidity, Access To Markets S&P noted that, for now, Strategy still has access to capital markets, which is why its outlook is stable rather than immediately negative. But the rating agency warned that a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price or any sudden tightening of funding channels could trigger a further downgrade. Related Reading: $10K Is Coming: Arthur Hayes’ Zcash ‘Vibe Check’ Sparks 30% Moonshot Market participants will watch funding costs, preferred dividend payments and convertible notes for signs of stress. Investors reacted with mixed signals in early trading. Some buyers treated the downgrade as a formal recognition of a known risk, while others judged the move as a calibration that won’t stop Saylor’s accumulation strategy if markets stay calm. Trading volume and price swings in both Strategy shares and Bitcoin may rise as traders reassess odds. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView