Economist Peter Schiff, in a recent post on X, revealed what he believes is the main vulnerability in Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy, which he bluntly called a “Bitcoin pyramid.” At the center of the discussion is the instrument STRC — Stretch Preferred Stock — which, according to Schiff, could become the reason for the first forced sale of Bitcoin in the history of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy).
What is STRC? These are preferred shares that operate on a principle different from the ordinary MSTR stock. First, unlike the volatile Bitcoin price, the STRC share aims to always trade at exactly $100, which, according to Strategy and its economists, makes the instrument attractive to conservative funds that are prohibited from buying crypto directly.
To keep the share price at the $100 level during market declines, Strategy must raise the yield, and in March this year, the rate reached 11.5% annually. In addition, STRC holders stand first in line to receive payments. The company is obligated to pay them monthly dividends in dollars before any profits can go to holders of ordinary shares.
Why does Schiff call this a “Bitcoin pyramid?”
The essence, in his view, lies in recursive debt. Strategy issues STRC to obtain dollars, but those dollars are used to buy Bitcoin, while Bitcoin itself does not generate cash flow, as it has no dividends. Therefore, to pay 11.5% to STRC holders, Saylor must either attract new investors, which Schiff considers a classic sign of a pyramid structure, or spend cash reserves, meaning selling Bitcoin.
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At the moment, Strategy’s cash reserves are estimated at $2.25 billion. With the current 11.5% rate and the volume of preferred shares issued, the company spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year just to service this stability instrument.
Because of this, Schiff warns that once the cash runs out, Saylor will face a choice. Either declare a dividend default, which would wipe out the value of STRC and collapse confidence in MSTR, or begin liquidating Bitcoin.
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