Strategy's $100 funding trick broke. Ripple's CEO is right, even with an agenda.
Brad Garlinghouse is talking his own book, but STRC trading far below par is still a real problem for Strategy.
CryptoVibe Desk · strategy · bitcoin · ripple
- →Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC that Michael Saylor's bitcoin funding model has damaged crypto, per CoinDesk.
- →STRC preferred shares fell about 26% below $100 par on Thursday, which stalls Strategy's funding engine.
- →Watch whether STRC gets back near $100 before July ends, because that decides if issuance reopens.
- Preferred shares → Preferred shares are company shares that usually pay a fixed dividend before common shareholders get paid.
- Par value → Par value is the target price a preferred share is designed to trade around.
- Dividend coverage → Dividend coverage means how long a company can keep paying dividends with its available cash.
STRC fell about 26% below $100 par on Thursday. CoinDesk called it a record low for Strategy's preferred shares. The shares carry an 11.5% annual dividend and were designed to trade near $100.
Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC on Friday that Michael Saylor's model has hurt crypto. He called it "financial engineering" that failed to create long-term value, according to CoinDesk. He also said he remains personally bullish on bitcoin.
The conflict matters. Garlinghouse runs Ripple, which issues XRP, a direct bitcoin competitor. If you're holding bitcoin, you don't have to treat him as neutral. Still, the tape matches the story.
STRC below par is not just an ugly print. It blocks the machine. When the shares trade below $100, Strategy cannot cleanly sell more STRC to buy more bitcoin. The company has paused new STRC issuance, per CoinDesk.
The cash cushion has also changed fast. CryptoQuant said STRC dividend coverage fell from more than seven years to about 14 months, according to CoinDesk. That is the number to watch because the whole structure depends on investors believing the payments are durable.
Benchmark-StoneX analyst Mark Palmer took the softer view. CoinDesk reported that Palmer called Strategy's funding engine less efficient, not broken. He also rejected comparisons between STRC and assets that collapsed outright.
That is fair, but it does not erase the signal. Strategy common stock closed around $82 on Friday, per CoinDesk, its lowest level since February 2024. Bitcoin traded below $59,000 on Friday morning, according to the same report.
Garlinghouse has an agenda. Strategy has a bigger problem. The critique lands because STRC is no longer behaving like clean funding. It is behaving like a market vote on how much patience investors still have.
Strategy's choice to pause new STRC issuance was unavoidable, because selling more below $100 would advertise that its bitcoin machine no longer funds itself cleanly.
Before July 31, watch whether STRC trades above $100 for five straight sessions or stays below $90, because that decides if new issuance reopens.
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