Strategy CEO Says Firm Is Bitcoin’s ‘Central Bank,’ Holds $4.75 Billion in Cash

Strategy says it is moving beyond simply holding Bitcoin and shifting toward a digital finance platform, with ambitions to serve as the Bitcoin market’s “central bank.”

In an interview with CoinDesk published on Aug. 10, Chief Executive Officer Phong Le said the company holds $4.75 billion in cash, enough to cover about 2.7 years of dividends.

The larger cash cushion reflects demand from preferred stock investors. Le said the company initially believed investors would place a high value on Bitcoin because of its liquidity and long-term price appreciation. It later found that institutions and investors managing short-term capital place greater importance on cash.

In response, Strategy developed preferred stock products including STRC for investors seeking Bitcoin-linked returns with lower volatility. Le said the products need to work properly to support MSTR and the company’s broader Bitcoin strategy, even if Strategy still wants exposure to Bitcoin.

The company’s long-term vision is to build a digital finance ecosystem. Le said Strategy wants to become the JPMorgan of digital finance, comparing the plan to Apple’s iPhone ecosystem. He said the company aims to create a structure in which other businesses build financial services on top of Strategy’s products. DeFi could broaden that ecosystem and provide another channel for capital to flow into Bitcoin, he added.

Strategy currently holds about 840,000 BTC, equal to roughly 4% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins. Le said the company has become both a leading market indicator and Bitcoin’s central bank, and that it would face the volatility and scrutiny that come with that role head-on.

The company plans to keep its legacy software business as well. Software revenue rose 7% from a year earlier, while cloud subscriptions increased 54%, Le said. About 1,500 employees support the Bitcoin business across legal, finance, artificial intelligence development and marketing.