Arca CIO Jeff Dorman pushed back Sunday against a wave of renewed criticism suggesting that Strategy could be forced to offload its bitcoin holdings. He argued that such claims overlook the company’s financial fundamentals, governance protections and ongoing cash-flow support.
Concerns around Strategy’s leveraged bitcoin strategy resurfaced after outspoken Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff reignited the debate on X. Schiff — chairman of Schiff Gold and chief global strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management — alleged that Strategy’s business model depends too heavily on income-oriented buyers of its preferred shares. He said the yields “will never actually be paid,” warned that the structure could fall into a “death spiral” if demand softens, and predicted that the company “will eventually go bankrupt.” Schiff also challenged Michael Saylor to debate him at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai in early December, in what appeared to be an attempt to provoke a public confrontation.
Dorman, offering a contrasting perspective, dismissed what he called “stupid, inaccurate takes” about Strategy’s risk profile. Without naming Schiff directly, he argued that speculation about forced bitcoin sales ignores essential aspects of the company’s balance sheet. According to Dorman, Saylor’s 42% ownership stake makes it nearly impossible for activists to push the company into selling assets. He also emphasized that none of Strategy’s outstanding debts contain covenants requiring bitcoin liquidation, even in severe market downturns.
He further noted that Strategy’s legacy software business continues to generate positive cash flow, helping support interest payments that he described as manageable. Companies rarely default simply because debt maturities approach, Dorman said, pointing out that lenders frequently extend repayment terms in the well-known “extend and pretend” environment.
Despite growing its bitcoin reserves, Strategy’s stock performance has struggled. Class A shares closed Friday at $199.74, down 4.22% on the day and 33.42% year to date. Over the same period, bitcoin is roughly flat, up about 0.4%. According to StrategyTracker, which monitors corporate bitcoin treasuries, Strategy’s diluted market NAV multiple sits near 1.06x — meaning the stock trades only slightly above a conservative, fully diluted estimate of its bitcoin-backed value.
Dorman also rejected the narrative that Strategy poses systemic risk to bitcoin, noting the company is no longer a meaningful marginal buyer compared with ETF inflows. “If you follow anyone saying MSTR is a risk to BTC, tell them to call me,” he wrote.
Bitcoin traded around $94,293 at 11 p.m. UTC, down 1.2% in the past 24 hours
