Michael Saylor’s Strategy Says It Has “More Flexibility Than Ever” To Buy Bitcoin

Strategy CEO Phong Le says Michael Saylor’s firm has “more flexibility than ever” to continue buying Bitcoin.

Speaking on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, Le said that Strategy has a capital structure that is built on long-dated debt and that there is no short-term pressure on its ability to raise funds.

Capital Markets The Reason Strategy Can Buy Bitcoin In Different Market Cycles

Strategy is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, and started purchasing BTC as part of its treasury back in 2020. 

Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows the firm holds 649,870 BTC valued at about $59 billion at current prices. 

Strategy’s BTC holdings (Source: Bitcoin Treasuries)

Those holdings were acquired through a series of purchases that were funded via convertible note tranches that are long-dated and carry little near-term dilution risk. 

Le said capital-markets are the “magic” that enables Strategy to continue its Bitcoin accumulation through multiple market cycles, adding that its balance sheet is engineered to avoid liquidity stress and to leave room open for opportunistic issuance. 

The company’s first debt maturity is only set for December this year, giving Strategy “a lot of flexibility to be opportunistic,” he said. 

He argued that Strategy currently has more flexibility than at any point in its history, citing the company’s ability to raise equity through at-the-market programs as well as its track record of issuing zero-coupon or low-coupon convertible notes.  

“We’ve shown we can do both,” he said, adding that the firm can either raise more capital during strong equity markets or lean on the convertible notes when rates and market conditions favor long-duration issuance. 

Strategy Share Price In A Short-Term Uptrend

The company rebranded from MicroStrategy to Strategy earlier this year, and has transitioned from a traditional software company to a hybrid business combining enterprise analytics with a Bitcoin-buying treasury plan. 

Le acknowledged that some investors still question how to value Strategy, especially given the volatility around Bitcoin’s price. Strategy’s MSTR stock has plummet over 52% in the past six months. 

Strategy share price performance over the past 6 months (Source: Google Finance)

That, and the drop in the Bitcoin price, caused Strategy’s Market Net Asset Value (MNAV), which is the ratio of the company’s market cap to the net asset value of its crypto holdings, to plunge. The ratio has since recovered somewhat to stand at 1.13. 

MSTR has recovered in the past week, climbing 2.4% after a gain of 0.8% in the past 24 hours. The recovery coincided with a 5% jump in the Bitcoin price over the past week.