What Is Strategy (MSTR)? The Bitcoin Treasury Company

Today, Strategy is 1 of the astir important institutions successful cryptocurrency, but it didn’t commencement retired that way. Originally called MicroStrategy, the institution co-founded by Michael Saylor—one of the astir influential figures successful the satellite of Bitcoin—first made its people successful software.

Now, however, it’s champion known for its assertive strategy of acquiring Bitcoin for its firm reserves, with Saylor becoming a cardinal figurehead for the institutional adoption of the asset.

Here’s everything other you request to cognize astir Strategy and its narration with Bitcoin.

What is Strategy?

Before it added Bitcoin to its equilibrium sheet, Strategy was champion known for its concern quality bundle solutions, which were designed to assistance businesses much easy analyse information for improved determination making.

Founded successful 1989 by Michael Saylor, Strategy rapidly became successful, going nationalist and trading connected the NASDAQ successful 1998 arsenic MSTR. But conscionable 2 years later, Saylor and 2 different apical executives astatine Strategy had to settle a case with the SEC, which alleged that the institution had “materially overstated revenues and net from the income of bundle and accusation services.”

After a little spike successful its stock terms successful 2000, MSTR traded successful a choky scope for the adjacent 2 decades, lone opening to marque a large determination upwards astatine the extremity of 2020—the aforesaid twelvemonth it announced its archetypal Bitcoin purchase.

Until aboriginal 2025, Saylor’s institution operated arsenic MicroStrategy—but dropped the “Micro” successful February, opting for a much almighty and affirmative code with conscionable Strategy. The rebrand became synonymous with the fashionable The Social Network movie notation successful which Mark Zuckerberg is advised to driblet “The” from “The Facebook.”

Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury reserve

In 2020, Strategy made a groundbreaking move: the institution adopted Bitcoin arsenic its superior treasury reserve asset. Concerned astir the devaluation of the United States dollar and fiat currency owed to inflation, Saylor spearheaded the company's first purchase of $250 cardinal successful Bitcoin arsenic a hedge against economical uncertainty.

“This concern reflects our content that Bitcoin, arsenic the world’s astir widely-adopted cryptocurrency, is simply a dependable store of worth and an charismatic concern plus with much semipermanent appreciation imaginable than holding cash,” helium said astatine the time.

The company’s Bitcoin buying strategy has evolved implicit clip and shifted to chiefly utilizing the sale of convertible notes to rise funds to bargain much Bitcoin. In different words, Strategy utilizes short-term indebtedness raises via convertible notes that let investors to yet currency successful for Strategy stock. It past uses the funds raised from the merchantability of the notes to bargain Bitcoin.

This strategy has yet been adopted by different publically traded companies like MARA, Metaplanet and Riot Platforms. In December 2024, Saylor likened this strategy to the improvement of Manhattan existent estate, telling CNBC that, “Every clip Manhattan existent property goes up successful value, they contented much indebtedness to make much existent estate.”

The steadfast signaled successful October 2024 that it has nary plans connected slowing down successful the future. At that time, Strategy announced plans to rise up to $42 billion successful bid to adhd much of the starring cryptocurrency plus to its equilibrium sheet.

Seeking much though, the firm passed a vote successful January 2025 to instrumentality a 30x summation of its Class A communal shares, allowing it to adhd adjacent much Bitcoin than initially planned.

Days later, the institution announced the offering of a caller stock, Strike (STRK)–as a caller mode for it to rise wealth to bargain Bitcoin. Selling shares for $80 a piece, the steadfast aimed to drawback different $584 cardinal for Bitcoin purchases to physique retired its treasury. The steadfast announced another $2 cardinal convertible elder notes sale successful February 2025.

Throughout the year, the steadfast would motorboat further preferred banal offerings to assistance money its Bitcoin purchases, granting antithetic types of investors entree to antithetic risk-adjusted products like Stretch (STRC), Stride (STRD), Strife (STRF), and Stream (STRE) successful summation to Strike.

The strategy of raising indebtedness to bargain Bitcoin has been adopted by different publically traded companies like MARA and Riot Platforms. In December, Saylor likened this strategy to the improvement of Manhattan existent estate, telling CNBC that, “Every clip Manhattan existent property goes up successful value, they contented much indebtedness to make much existent estate.”

As Strategy has go ever much intimately intertwined with Bitcoin, the institution present refers to itself arsenic the “World’s First and Largest Bitcoin Treasury Company” via its investor relations page.

Michael Saylor, Bitcoin convert

Though Michael Saylor is present 1 of the loudest voices advocating for Bitcoin, helium wasn’t ever a Bitcoin bull.

Just 7 years earlier his institution adopted the crypto arsenic its main reserve asset, Saylor tweeted that “#Bitcoin days are numbered. It seems similar conscionable a substance of clip earlier it suffers the aforesaid destiny arsenic online gambling.”

Since then, Saylor has done a implicit 180°, claiming Bitcoin is the champion semipermanent plus to clasp portion committing to “buying the apical forever,” referring to consistently purchasing the plus astatine its highest prices—which Strategy continues to do.

In Saylor’s view, that means helium mightiness beryllium buying Bitcoin astatine $13 million, the terms people he’s established for the plus implicit the adjacent 21 years arsenic helium expects it to instrumentality up a larger percent of full planetary capital.

The lawsuit against Strategy’s Bitcoin reserve

Strategy’s persistent Bitcoin acquisitions via the merchantability of indebtedness has faced scrutiny by analysts and media successful the space. In November 2024, Robinhood-backed Sherwood Media outlined the “math problem,” with MSTR being worthy 3x the magnitude of BTC that it holds and the imaginable of forced liquidations successful a drawdown.

This premium, known arsenic the firm’s mNAV oregon its aggregate to its nett plus value, has historically traded astatine a beardown premium for Strategy. However, arsenic Bitcoin fell successful 2026, Strategy’s mNAV—which had reached arsenic precocious arsenic 3.89x successful November 2024—dropped beneath 1, meaning the company’s marketplace headdress is present valued beneath the worth of its Bitcoin holdings.

The falling mNAV corresponded with astir a 70% driblet successful the MSTR stock terms implicit the six-month play from August 2025 to February 2026, with the institution reporting a loss of $12.4 billion successful Q4 2025.

Skeptics person often noted that if the MSTR stock terms falls enough, Strategy could be forced to merchantability Bitcoin to repay billions successful convertible notes, “effectively reversing its ‘perpetual question machine’...which would further alteration Bitcoin’s price,” according to Sherwood Media.

But arsenic shares fell, alongside BTC successful February 2026, Saylor called concerns astir the firm’s quality to wage its debts and dividends “unfounded,” noting that his steadfast would just “refinance the debt” should the terms of BTC autumn acold enough.

To assistance debar situations wherever the steadfast whitethorn beryllium forced into selling BTC, it established a currency reserve successful December 2025, kickstarting it with $1.44 cardinal successful funds. It later added to that pile, yet securing much than 2.5 years worthy of indebtedness and dividends arsenic of February 2026, according to Saylor—who claims that the institution tin screen its $6 cardinal indebtedness if BTC falls arsenic debased arsenic $8,000.

From "never sell" to "never beryllium a nett seller"

In May 2026 Strategy revised its long-held “never merchantability your Bitcoin” philosophy, with executives signaling that offloading immoderate of its Bitcoin holdings wasn’t disconnected the table.

During the company’s Q1 2026 net call, CEO Phong Le said the steadfast would see selling Bitcoin if doing truthful improved its “Bitcoin-per-share” presumption oregon helped negociate indebtedness and dividend obligations.

"We volition merchantability Bitcoin erstwhile it's advantageous to the company,” Le said. “We're not going to beryllium backmost and conscionable say, 'We'll ne'er merchantability the Bitcoin.'"

The comments drew attraction due to the fact that Strategy’s accumulation exemplary has go the blueprint for galore firm Bitcoin treasury firms, with analysts saying immoderate Bitcoin income would apt substance much arsenic a awesome astir organization assurance than the income themselves.

"If Strategy were to offload adjacent a fraction of its Bitcoin holdings, the contiguous interaction would beryllium the alteration successful cognition and weakening sentiments astir the condemnation of the asset," Mathew Pinnock, COO of Altura, told Decrypt.

Saylor aboriginal clarified that Strategy’s extremity is to “never beryllium a nett seller” of Bitcoin, arguing that the institution inactive expects to get acold much BTC than it mightiness yet merchantability to money dividends oregon operations. Days aft the comments, Strategy resumed buying Bitcoin.

Even arsenic Bitcoin terms swings contributed to a $12.5 billion quarterly nonaccomplishment successful the archetypal 4th of 2026, Strategy continued expanding its Bitcoin reserves and preferred equity offerings of STRC, which it has utilized to rise billions of dollars for the company.

Notably, different companies that followed Strategy's Bitcoin treasury playbook person sold Bitcoin. In March 2026, Bitcoin mining steadfast MARA Holdings sold 28% of its Bitcoin holdings, astir 15,000 BTC, raising astir $1.1 cardinal to repurchase portion of its convertible debt. The steadfast billed it arsenic a mode to amended its wide fiscal footing and finance its pivot from Bitcoin mining into an "energy and integer infrastructure company."

A period later, Riot Platforms followed suit, announcing the merchantability of implicit $250 cardinal successful BTC successful the archetypal 4th of the twelvemonth arsenic portion of a "strategic evolution" into information halfway development.

The aboriginal of Strategy

Strategy has continued its consistent Bitcoin purchases.

As of May 2026, it holds astir 819,000 Bitcoin, worthy astir $65.4 billion—making it the largest Bitcoin treasury among publically traded companies. According to information from SaylorTracker, Strategy is erstwhile again holding insubstantial profits aft posting unrealized losses from February to April 2026, and is up astir $5 cardinal connected its purchases lifetime.

Saylor’s ambitions for Strategy are adjacent grander than adding large Bitcoin reserves to the company’s equilibrium sheet. In October 2024, he outlined his vision for Strategy to germinate into a “Bitcoin bank” with a trillion-dollar valuation, creating superior marketplace instruments tied to Bitcoin that tin beryllium offered to investors.

In summation to adding to its ain holdings, Saylor has pitched Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook to different large publically traded companies. In December 2024, helium told the Microsoft board they could basal to make $5 trillion successful worth by adopting Bitcoin. They voted against adding it to their equilibrium sheet.

Editor's note: This communicative was primitively published connected January 8, 2025, and past updated with caller details connected May 12, 2026.