Company's Stance on Bitcoin and Financial Stability
MicroStrategy CEO Phong Le appeared on CNBC's “Power Lunch” program and made critical statements about the company's Bitcoin (BTC) strategy, market fluctuations, and their recent capital increase. Le argued that the company maintains its capacity to provide financing even during periods of decline in the BTC price.
Phong Le responded to market rumors that MicroStrategy would default on its dividend obligations or be forced to sell Bitcoin. He noted that these rumors were fueled by social media and some financial circles, stating:
We weren't going to have any problems with our dividend payments, but to break this narrative, we decided to add US dollars to our balance sheet. We raised $1.44 billion in just 8.5 days. This amount covers our dividend obligation for 21 months. We did this both to put an end to the rumors and to prove that we can still raise money even when Bitcoin is in a down cycle.
MicroStrategy as a Leveraged Bitcoin Play
Le, who admitted that the company acts like a “leveraged” version of Bitcoin, explained their market position: “While Bitcoin has 50% volatility, we have 70%. When BTC goes up, we go up more, and when it goes down, we go down more.”
Long-Term Outlook on Bitcoin Holdings
In a striking response to the presenter's question, “Would you ever consider selling BTC?”, the CEO stated that the company would not sell unless it faced liquidity issues. Le humorously explained that, according to current projections, such a liquidity squeeze would only be possible in very long-term scenarios:
“If we run out of liquidity and lose access to the US dollar, we might be forced to sell. But by our calculations, that won't happen until 2065. By then, I probably won't be in this business.”
Recalling that Bitcoin has seen an average annual increase of 45% over the last five years, Le argued that the debate about the asset's “uselessness” is now behind us. He noted that even giants like Vanguard and JP Morgan have changed their stance on BTC, adding that he believes the price of Bitcoin will continue to rise for the next 20 years.