Parker Lewis
Head of Business Development at Zaprite, Author of Gradually, Then Suddenly
Without a maturity date, Strategy's STRC will not hold a peg to par. A maturity would give it a basis to trade at par. The concern goes beyond capital-structure conflicts: fiat hyperinflation destroys capital, while misleading pitches, double taxation and paying a premium for money available directly compound the problem. x.com
Paying a premium for Bitcoin treasury stocks leaves buyers worse off, as Strategy holders have found, and Strive buyers paying an 87k premium today will be in the same position in two years. These companies managed to fool people all the same, and those buyers will later claim ignorance despite having had the risk explained. x.com
Strategy's STRC preferred was never as safe as a money market fund, and if both STRC and MSTR share dilution fail, the only way left to pay dividends is selling bitcoin. Believing STRC would stay at par forever while paying a junk-like 12% was financial illiteracy; per @betirement, it has now fallen below $90. Strategy says its bitcoin reserve gives it 32 years of dividend coverage. x.com x.com
STRC, the preferred stock tied to Strategy, is a Ponzi-like structure that will be Strategy's downfall unless it is shut down. The structural problem cannot be fixed while it exists, and management's stubbornness risks a massive loss of confidence in Strategy. If Strategy sells bitcoin to cope, lower bitcoin prices could follow in a vicious cycle. As long as STRC exists, believers in bitcoin should just own bitcoin. x.com x.com x.com
Raising Strategy's STRC rate could lock common shareholders into costly dividends after sentiment improves. STRC is six times SATA's size; each 0.5-point hike costs $43m a year on existing shares, without evidence it can sustain par. Buybacks have pushed STRC toward par; as Bitcoin rises and daily payouts start, it will return to par at 12%. Reversing a hike without serious backlash may be difficult for 5-10 years. x.com x.com x.com x.com x.com
Strategy's funding machine is breaking as its STRC preferred trades far below $100 par, threatening a death spiral. STRC pays about 11.5% and lets Strategy buy bitcoin only while near par; at a new low of about $82, issuance stops, yet cash dividends are still due. Cash has fallen from $2.25 billion to about $1 billion, and Strategy sold 32 BTC in late May to cover STRC obligations. Higher payouts mean more bitcoin sales, which hit bitcoin's price and confidence, pushing STRC lower again. x.com
Strive's common ATM can lift long-run returns by funding bitcoin purchases at a share premium. Bitcoin is historically cheap; stacking in a bear market or before the bull market begins drives the biggest gains later. But too much weekly issuance can blunt upside, exhaust investors and cap mNAV expansion; share scarcity matters. The ATM is crucial, but caution is preferable. Cole Macro said preferreds should help keep dilution below Strategy's levels on the way up. x.com x.com x.com
Daily STRC dividends advance Strategy's Bitcoin financing machine. Shareholders approved the payments, and Strategy's Bitcoin printer is unstoppable. x.com
Strategy is a disclosed Ponzi that is now unwinding, with much more downside ahead and an eventual path to zero. As bitcoin-treasury hype fades, raising money to keep the scheme going gets harder, while interest costs keep accumulating on instruments such as its STRC preferred. That liquidity drain is what will take Strategy down. x.com
Heavy inflows could lift Strive's mNAV above Strategy's for periods because they have more impact on the smaller company. Strive could do even better than 6x versus Strategy's 4x, as investors seek the faster Bitcoin treasury stock. x.com x.com x.com
Bitcoin and Strategy offer an unparalleled and underappreciated setup now that the issue around Strategy's STRC preferred is largely resolved. x.com
Strategy needs a solid bid to preserve the premium that funds its bitcoin purchases. MSCI's new rules could eject it from global indexes and force passive selling; JPMorgan estimates $2.8 billion in Strategy share sales if that happens, or up to $8.8 billion if others follow. Without the premium, it cannot raise funds to buy bitcoin. Watch whether the rules bite on November 30. x.com
