A video of a frustrated Strategy shareholder pressing co-founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le over a collapsed investment spread across crypto circles again on Tuesday. The exchange is not
A video of a frustrated Strategy shareholder pressing co-founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le over a collapsed investment spread across crypto circles again on Tuesday.
The exchange is not new. It happened during a livestreamed shareholder Q&A on Aug. 17, and it is recirculating now with MSTR still about 74% below its all-time high and Bitcoin more than a third below its own record.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. Its stock is built to amplify Bitcoin's moves in both directions, a design that sat at the center of the shareholder's question.
Michael Saylor has made his Bitcoin case in TheStreet Roundtable's own archive. Watch the conversation below.
24-09-23, Michael Saylor - PULLOUT 5 (6:48)The session was Strategy's second live retail investor Q&A, moderated by Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell, according to her account of the exchange.
A shareholder identified only as Rob said he had invested $73,000 in MSTR for each of his three children. By the time of the session, he said, each position was worth about $20,000.
On the figures he gave, the three positions together had shrunk from $219,000 to about $60,000 by the day of the session, a paper loss of roughly $159,000.
The stock's long-term potential, he said, had become a function of getting back to breakeven, and common shareholders seemed to be the company's lowest priority. He asked whether Strategy would consider paying a dividend to common shareholders.
Michael Saylor, chairman and chief executive officer at MicroStrategy, speaks during the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
Getty Images
Le told him common shareholders are the company's top priority.
That edge comes from what executives call amplified Bitcoin. Amplification cuts both ways. When Bitcoin falls 50%, MSTR tends to fall further.
Le did not offer a dividend. What fixes MSTR, he said, is fixing the credit side of the business, where the company's energy is focused. Saylor added that anyone who wants a dividend should look at the company's preferred stocks.
Saylor said the stock was never designed to behave like a typical equity, and he asked shareholders to expect a long wait. He said he felt Rob's pain, but that investors have to be prepared for difficult years and may need to ride through a year or two before things start working in the equity's favor.
He said anyone holding the equity with a time horizon under four years is probably in the wrong instrument, and put the ideal holding period at seven to 10 years.
MSTR closed Wednesday at $142.54, up 5% on the day, according to Yahoo Finance d The shares have lost more than 40% of their value over the past year and remain about 74% below the all-time high of $543 set on Nov. 21, 2024.
MSTR closed at $97.68 on Aug. 17 and $142.54 on Nov. 4, a 46% gain since the exchange. Source: Yahoo Finance historical prices.MSTR closed at $97.68 on Aug. 17, the day of the exchange. It has climbed 46% since then. Whether Rob still holds the shares is not known.
Bitcoin traded near $80,500 on Wednesday evening ET, per CoinMarketCap, about 36% below its October 2025 record above $126,000.
Strategy last week reported the largest quarterly operating income in its history, $20.9 billion for the third quarter, nearly all of it paper gains on its Bitcoin holdings, according to its earnings release. The company held 848,517 BTC as of Oct. 25 at an average cost of $75,446 per coin.
Its favored "BTC Yield" metric, which tracks Bitcoin holdings per share, is down 3.7% this year.
On Monday, Strategy said it bought another 811 BTC for $65.5 million at an average price of $80,846, according to a regulatory filing. It spent more than three times that amount, $208.2 million, buying back its STRC preferred shares, the same prioritization Rob pressed management on.
The company now holds 849,328 BTC, more than 4% of the 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist, and keeps a $4.79 billion dollar reserve.
The clip's second life comes days before a key date for the stock. Index provider MSCI decided on Oct. 15 to bar "non-operating companies" from its global equity indexes under new financial tests, according to its announcement, a category Strategy could fall into. The question also came up at the August Q&A.
The final list of affected companies is due Nov. 11, with changes taking effect at the close of Nov. 30. JPMorgan has estimated an MSCI exclusion could drive $2.8 billion in outflows, with another $8.8 billion at stake if other index providers follow, TheStreet reported last month.
The pressure is not new. Strategy's market premium over the value of its Bitcoin, known as mNAV, has compressed this year, and Saylor took aim at short sellers in June as the gap narrowed.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. You should consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment or financial decisions.
