Jim Chanos Calls Strategy's Premium 'Financial Gibberish'
Chanos has placed a bet against Strategy's stock by shorting it while maintaining a long position in bitcoin itself, aiming to profit if the company's premium valuation shrinks. In shorting, a trader borrows stock, sells it and hopes the price falls enough for them to buy it back in time to return to the lender while leaving them with a profit.
The investor has earned a reputation for spotting corporate frauds and overvalued companies. Enron, once a major U.S. energy firm, collapsed amid massive accounting fraud, wiping out billions in value and sending top executives to prison, becoming a lasting symbol of corporate scandal.
He criticized the financial maneuvers of Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who has sold convertible debt and preferred shares to raise money to buy more bitcoin, calling them 'financial gibberish' and warning that the sales create risks for shareholders. Strategy has accumulated more than 600,000 bitcoins, far surpassing its closest competitors.
In a debate on the We Study Billionaires podcast, Chanos clashed with Pierre Rochard, CEO of Bitcoin Bond Co. and a well-known bitcoin advocate, over Strategy's roughly 1.9 times net asset value premium.
According to Chanos, the company offers nothing unique beyond owning bitcoin, and contends the premium should disappear as more than 140 other firms worldwide, including MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Metaplanet (3350), pursue similar treasury strategies.
Rochard, however, sees Strategy's large bitcoin stash and first-mover advantage as key strengths. He argued the company can raise significant debt without diluting shareholders and that investors view Strategy as a leveraged play on BTC, akin to holding a call option for potential upside. Rochard also suggest that crypto-friendly policies under the administration of President Trump could attract more investment into the industry, boosting Strategy's appeal.
While Chanos insisted direct bitcoin ownership is safer and simpler, Rochard countered that Strategy's size enables it to leverage more efficiently than individual investors.
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Red Coin, Blue Coin: The New Politics of Exposure
It was only a matter of time. With Strategy long reigning as the go-to corporate proxy for bitcoin exposure, it was inevitable that a challenger would emerge — though few expected it to wear a red hat and run a social media company. Trump Media & Technology Group's recent announcement that it holds roughly $2 billion in bitcoin has transformed it, overnight, into a serious — if unconventional — bitcoin-treasury company. But for investors seeking crypto exposure, the question isn't just about how much bitcoin a company holds. It's about what else comes with the package. In one corner, we have Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): the bitcoin standard-bearer, helmed by Michael Saylor, who has spent the past four years turning a sleepy enterprise software company into a de facto digital gold vault. Saylor has become bitcoin's most prominent corporate evangelist, turning Strategy into a digital gold vault with quarterly earnings calls that double as bitcoin sermons. In the other corner, enter Trump Media (DJT), which operates the Truth Social platform and has a revenue stream you could mistake for a rounding error: $4.1 million in 2023, compared to Strategy's $498 million. Yet its market cap has floated above $6 billion — a valuation propped up almost entirely by brand loyalty, media spectacle, and now, bitcoin. Let's be clear: DJT didn't just buy some bitcoin. It bought a lot of it — enough to vault it into the upper echelon of corporate BTC holders. On paper, that makes it interesting. But this isn't your typical balance-sheet play. This is bitcoin by way of meme stock, populist vehicle, and culture war capital. And for investors looking for crypto exposure, it raises an uncomfortable — and increasingly unavoidable — question: What happens when your bitcoin proxy stock comes with a political identity? Strategy's bitcoin play, while bold, has always been pitched as a rational (some might say religious) hedge against inflation and fiat debasement. Its founder doesn't dabble in politics (outside of poking fun at altcoins), and the company isn't staging rallies or trending on Truth Social. It's all-in on bitcoin — not ideology. Trump Media, by contrast, is ideology-first. Its brand, valuation, and customer base are inseparable from Donald Trump's political identity. With bitcoin now making up the overwhelming majority of the company's assets, this is less a treasury decision than a wholesale pivot. But in practice, it functions more like a cultural signal — a declaration of alignment with the anti-establishment, pro-sovereignty values that animate its most loyal followers. That's not a bad strategy, necessarily. It might even be a brilliant one. The marriage of Trumpism and bitcoin isn't as odd as it sounds. Both reject centralized authority. Both thrive on defiance. Both are, depending on your viewpoint, revolutionary or rebellious — and always controversial. But for investors who simply want crypto exposure in their portfolio, the emergence of politically branded bitcoin stocks presents a new kind of risk. What happens when bitcoin becomes tribal? What happens when each side of the political aisle has its own bitcoin company, its own bitcoin ETF, its own financial media ecosystem? In this new paradigm, bitcoin exposure could become not just a financial choice, but a cultural affiliation. Imagine a left-leaning climate-tech firm launching 'Green Bitcoin Holdings, Inc.' to push eco-friendly mining. Or a libertarian group creating 'Freedom Ledger Corp.' to promote bitcoin as a tool for tax resistance and personal sovereignty. Bitcoin could become the financial equivalent of cable news: red coins, blue coins, and perpetual outrage. That's a far cry from bitcoin's original promise as a neutral, decentralized alternative to fiat. It was supposed to be trustless. Borderless. Immune to capture. But when its biggest corporate champions start behaving like political action committees it threatens to drag bitcoin into the very systems it was designed to transcend. So where does that leave investors? If you're looking for a relatively clean bitcoin proxy, Strategy still offers the clearest path. Its volatility is real — but it's the volatility of conviction. Trump Media, on the other hand, is a bet on narrative, loyalty, and virality. It might outperform in the short term. It might even spark a whole new class of politically-infused crypto equities. But it's no longer just about bitcoin. It's about who owns the story around bitcoin. The final irony? Bitcoin itself doesn't care. It doesn't care who your CEO is. It doesn't care who your president is. It just keeps producing blocks, one every ten minutes, indifferent to spin, slogans, or Senate hearings (until 21 million is reached – at which point the political tribe with the biggest BTC treasury wins?). But investors do care. And as bitcoin enters this new phase of cultural colonization, we'd all be wise to ask: Are we buying the coin — or the campaign?
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9 hours ago
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MSTR and SMLR: Brett Knoblauch Picks the Best Bitcoin Treasury Stocks to Buy
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'What makes a good Bitcoin treasury company? A successful Bitcoin treasury company needs access to capital. Without capital, they simply cannot acquire Bitcoin. The amount of capital a company has access to in this space is largely driven by trading liquidity. For shares to have a relatively high amount of volume, we believe they need to have a management team that carries weight in the crypto ecosystem,' Knoblauch opined. 'However, not all Bitcoin treasury companies are created equal, and we believe some offer better risk/reward than others.' The Cantor digital expert goes on to put his background research to work – and he's tagged Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Semler Scientific (NASDAQ:SMLR) as two of the best bitcoin treasury stocks to buy right now. Let's give them a closer look and find out what makes these stocks so compelling. Strategy The first stock on our list is MSTR. Formerly known as MicroStrategy, the company rebranded itself earlier this year as Strategy, and its stylized 'B' logo points to the company's core work. Strategy is a Bitcoin treasury, but more importantly, it was the first Bitcoin treasury. The company has been buying up Bitcoin since 2020, and today its holdings total 607,770. At current prices, that digital asset is worth approximately $72 billion. Strategy is the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. As a Bitcoin treasury, some of Strategy's vital stats are a bit different than those of most other public companies. A look at the last quarterly report, covering 1Q25, shows this. Strategy reported strong results on several important KPIs related to its Bitcoin business. These include the 'BTC Yield,' which was listed as 13.7%; the 'BTC Gain' of 61,497; and the 'BTC $ Gain' of $5.8 billion. 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The analyst notes that this company was the first into that niche, and had taken a large lead – which bodes well for Strategy's future. Knoblauch writes, 'MSTR created the segment, and it has a Bitcoin stack that is unlikely to ever be matched by another entity. Assuming MSTR acquires ~$20bn worth of BTC a year, this puts MSTR on track to reach 1m BTC in just over three years, and that assumes BTC compounds at a 30% CAGR. The sheer size of MSTR's BTC stack combined with capital markets innovation makes MSTR a must-own name in this space, in our view. If BTC is going to $1m, which we think is highly likely at some point in the future, MSTR could be one of the largest companies in the world.' These comments back up the analyst's selection of MSTR as his top Bitcoin treasury pick, and his Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating on MSTR. The analyst's $680 price target indicates potential for a 72% upside in the year ahead. 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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue
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Michael Saylor Touts Bitcoin-Tied Preferred Stock as 'High-Yield' Option for Retirees
Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has marketed the company's Bitcoin-backed preferred stock as a superior alternative to traditional bank accounts for retirees, promoting securities that yield 9.5% compared to typical savings rates of 0.1% to 4%. Saylor described the firm's latest preferred offering, STRC, as particularly attractive to risk-averse investors seeking stable income during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Thursday. "This is interesting for retirees. It's interesting for a whole class of people," he said, explaining the product's appeal to those seeking higher yields without long-term commitments. The pitch comes as Strategy reported record quarterly profits of $10 billion, mainly driven by Bitcoin's price rise from $77,000 in Q1 to over $111,000 in Q2. The Virginia-based company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy and now holds 628,791 BTC worth over $74 billion. When asked about the responsibility of promoting Bitcoin-backed products to retirees, Peter Chung, head of research at Singapore-based Presto Labs, told Decrypt that "registered investment advisors managing the retirees will make that decision," adding the product is structured in 'such a way that it mimics the economics of MMFs." The company's preferred securities are structured as perpetual instruments that never mature, paying monthly dividends backed by Strategy's massive Bitcoin holdings. Michael Saylor's Strategy Raises $2.5B in Record Stock Offering to Buy More Bitcoin STRC, the latest offering, is designed as a short-duration, high-yield alternative to money market funds, with six times over-collateralization in Bitcoin. The security trades on NASDAQ and offers daily liquidity, distinguishing it from traditional preferred stocks that typically trade at much lower volumes. "If you go down the street and you ask a hundred people, would you like a one-month instrument that actually pays you 500 basis points more than SOFR or a savings account that pays 9.5%, they would generally say yes," Saylor said during the call. Chung explained that Strategy's obligations are primarily coupon payments, and the company's Bitcoin holdings "are large enough to cover 120 years of these obligations." He noted that even in severe downturns, "if Bitcoin goes down by 80%, it's still enough to cover 24 years." Ethereum Treasuries Face Unique Risks Compared to Bitcoin Firms, Says Bernstein In comparison to traditional retirement products, Chung acknowledged lower predictability but emphasized that "the yields are higher.' He observed this suggests "a trend of 'financialization' of Bitcoin to appeal to demographics outside crypto-native investors," adding that "as with any investment, the risk is to be borne by investors themselves." During the earnings call, Saylor stressed that the preferred securities offer "intelligent leverage" on Bitcoin exposure while providing downside protection through senior positioning in the capital structure. Saylor highlighted supportive regulatory developments, noting that "this administration is going to be very enthusiastic in its support of the entire crypto industry and the Bitcoin ecosystem" following the White House's 150-page crypto policy report earlier this week. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
