‘Impossible To Blockade Bitcoin,’ Michael Saylor Defies Critics, Schiff Slams Strategy’s 11.5% Yield

• Michael Saylor said it is “impossible to blockade Bitcoin,” drawing parallels between BTC’s decentralized nature and global chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz amid rising US-Iran tensions.
• Peter Schiff criticized Strategy’s use of 11.5% yield preferred shares to fund ongoing Bitcoin purchases on Saturday.
• Strategy added nearly 18,800 Bitcoin in early April, bringing total holdings to about 780,897 Bitcoin.

Strategy (MSTR) Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said on Saturday that it was “Impossible to blockade Bitcoin (BTC),” just hours before Peter Schiff sharply attacked the company’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

Saylor’s comments come amid global tensions, with Iran re-imposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, just one day after briefly reopening the critical waterway to commercial vessels amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions. Saylor’s statement appears to draw a parallel between Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and the difficulty of controlling global chokepoints like Hormuz.

Saylor's optimism was met with sharp criticism from longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff earlier in the day. The Chief Economist and Global Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital highlighted how Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, was now issuing perpetual preferred shares with an 11.5% yield, after previously raising capital by selling common stock at a premium.

Schiff argued that, since the firm had ‘no earnings,’ these dividend obligations could only be met by issuing more preferred shares, selling discounted common stock, or, eventually, selling Bitcoin.

Schiff’s Longstanding Criticism Of Bitcoin Strategy

Schiff, a longtime Bitcoin skeptic and gold advocate, has repeatedly argued that Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and is a speculative bubble, maintaining that Strategy’s gains are built on speculation. However, he has promoted gold and silver as superior stores of value. He often urged investors to sell Bitcoin during rallies and switch to precious metals, calling Strategy’s leveraged treasury strategy an unsustainable “pyramid” that depended on continuous capital raises rather than real economic productivity.

STRC, the preferred instrument, features a variable rate designed to keep the shares trading near their $100 par value. This structure allows Strategy to continue issuing new shares to fund further Bitcoin purchases.

Strategy’s price was down by 0.16% during after-hours trading. MSTR’s stock closed over $166 on Friday, in green. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around MSTR moved to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ as chatter rose to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels over the past day. 

Strategy’s Bitcoin Accumulation Accelerates

The criticism comes amid Strategy’s continued Bitcoin buying spree. In the first two weeks of this month alone, the company reported a “BTC Gain” of 17,585 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $1.3 billion, after acquiring approximately 18,798 BTC last week. This brought its total holdings to around 780,897 Bitcoin, purchased at an average cost of about $75,577 per coin. These acquisitions were funded primarily through at-the-market common stock sales and the STRC perpetual preferred share program.

Read also: Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin Sees AI Agents Driving Crypto’s Next Wave, Warns Of Centralization Risks

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