Saylor Says Strategy Withstood Bitcoin Below $16,000 as STRC Worries Grow

Strategy, facing mounting investor concern during Bitcoin’s latest downturn, moved to calm market nerves.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor wrote on X on June 20 that Bitcoin was trading around $20,000 in October 2022, when Strategy held 130,000 Bitcoin. He said the company later endured a period when Bitcoin fell below $16,000 and its debt exceeded its assets by about $300 million.

Saylor also underscored that Strategy stuck with its Bitcoin holding strategy through that period. “We remained steadfast, strengthened the company’s structure and executed our treasury strategy,” he wrote, adding that Strategy later raised more than $60 billion and bought an additional 716,000 Bitcoin.

Strategy’s current Bitcoin and dollar holdings exceed its debt by about $48 billion, according to Saylor. He also thanked those who trusted the company, stayed patient and maintained a long-term view.

The post appeared to come in response to intensifying concern around Strategy in recent days. Market criticism has centered on STRC, the preferred stock that has served as a key vehicle for the company’s Bitcoin accumulation.

STRC fell to $88.59 on Nasdaq on June 19, well below its $100 par value.

Strategy has raised funds by promising dividends on STRC and using the proceeds to buy Bitcoin. But with the stock now trading sharply lower, concern has grown over the company’s funding structure. STRC’s dividend yield stands at 12.98%. At that rate, the company would have to pay nearly $1.2 billion in annual dividends.

Some investors have speculated that Strategy could sell part of its Bitcoin holdings to fund those dividend payments. In May, the company sold 32 Bitcoin to secure funds for dividends, breaking for the first time in about four years with its long-stated principle of holding Bitcoin permanently.