Schiff: MicroStrategy’s $64B Bitcoin Strategy Losing Money
Peter Schiff wrote MicroStrategy’s roughly $64 billion bitcoin purchases have a negative five-year total return as of May 23 and STRC needs about 30% annual BTC gains to fund an 11.5% dividend.
On May 23, investor Peter Schiff wrote on X that MicroStrategy’s roughly $64 billion bitcoin purchases have produced a negative five-year total return and that the company’s STRC preferred shares rely on bitcoin appreciating about 30% per year to sustain an 11.5% annual dividend.
Schiff noted MicroStrategy holds 818,869 bitcoin at an average cost near $75,540 per coin. With bitcoin trading close to $76,800 on May 23, he characterized the position as only marginally above its cost basis.
The STRC preferred shares were introduced in July 2025 as a funding instrument tied to MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings. MicroStrategy set STRC’s dividend rate at 11.50% for March 2026, the seventh consecutive monthly increase. The company resets the rate each month with the stated objective of keeping STRC trading near its $100 par value and has continued issuing shares.
Schiff wrote that the STRC structure assumes outsized bitcoin gains and posted, “The entire premise upon which the $STRC Ponzi is built is the expectation that Bitcoin will appreciate by 30% per year, allowing MSTR to afford to pay STRC shareholders 11.5%.” He added that ongoing issuance increases the returns required to cover dividend payments.
Commenters on the thread disagreed on the math. One argued MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings exceed dividend obligations and that a modest compound annual growth rate of roughly 2.5% would cover payments. Schiff rejected that figure, writing that bitcoin has not achieved that threshold over the accumulation period. Other participants raised concerns about volatility when using a single-company vehicle exposed to bitcoin.
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has publicly disputed Schiff’s critique and defended the company’s long-term performance. The company continues to acquire bitcoin and has not announced a cap on its accumulation. Future coverage of STRC dividends will depend on bitcoin’s price movements and MicroStrategy’s issuance and management of the preferred shares.
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