Michael Saylor marked Strategy’s turnaround from its 2022 lows, saying the firm’s Bitcoin (BTC) and cash reserves now top its debt by roughly $48 billion. His remarks land as MicroStrategy’s STRC preferred stock trades well below its $100 target.
Saylor is celebrating a multi-year win, yet traders question whether his newest Bitcoin funding tool can hold steady.
In October 2022, the company then called MicroStrategy (MSTR) held about 130,000 BTC. Weeks later, as the FTX collapse drove Bitcoin below $16,000, Saylor says its debt briefly topped its Bitcoin and cash by about $300 million.
Adjusted for a 10-for-1 split in 2024, the stock traded near $13. Michael Saylor says the picture has since transformed.
MicroStrategy has raised more than $60 billion, and it now holds about 843,700 BTC, more than any other public company. He casts the rebound as proof that conviction paid off.
“When I gave this speech in October 2022, Bitcoin traded near $20,000… Today, our BTC and USD reserves exceed debt by ~$48 billion. Thank you to everyone who believed, endured, and took the long view,” Saylor wrote in a post.
STRC, formally the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, was built to trade near $100, and Strategy resets the dividend monthly to defend that level. The company has lifted the rate repeatedly, now to 11.5%.
Strategy’s own filings note STRC is not collateralized by its Bitcoin and carries only a preferred claim on residual assets. That makes it a credit product, not a Bitcoin proxy.
The stock has not cooperated. It recently changed hands in the high $80s, having fallen below its $100 floor during the sell-off.
With Bitcoin near $63,700, leverage unwinds and paused issuance drove the slide. MicroStrategy can sell new STRC only at or above par, so a deep discount stalls its Bitcoin-buying machine.
Conviction Meets a Real Stress Test
Supporters remain calm. Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Capital, argued that STRC cannot break this cycle unless Bitcoin crashes toward $10,000, and he expects it to move back near par within a week.
It’s not going to happen that $STRC falls this cycle, as then $BTC needs to go to $10K.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) June 20, 2026
Others see a messaging problem rather than a structural one.
Crypto analyst James Van Straten said the panic misreads what STRC is, noting that retail investors hold most of the stock, around 80% by one count.
“$STRC is not a stablecoin, it does not ‘de-peg.’ … The issue has been with [Saylor’s] messaging. You can’t expect ‘one penny of volatility’ when the underlying asset is a 40-50 vol asset and the majority of holders are retail,” the analyst stated.
The selling fears are not new. Strategy made its first-ever Bitcoin sale in that same 2022 window, selling 704 BTC for a tax benefit before rebuying days later.
It again sold 32 BTC this year to help cover dividends, and economist Peter Schiff has branded the structure a house of cards as STRC, MSTR, and Bitcoin fell together.
The timing sharpens the test. Shareholders approved a move to semi-monthly STRC dividends that takes effect at the end of June.
