Why Saylor Says MSTR Can Pay Dividends ‘Forever’ — And Still Stack More Bitcoin

• Strategy may sell Bitcoin to support STRC dividends, but Saylor indicated the business will acquire Bitcoin "forever."
• With $3.2 billion of STRC sold in April and an $80-90 million monthly payout, Strategy only needs Bitcoin to appreciate 2.3% yearly to finance payments eternally.
• Saylor bluntly rebuffed Peter Schiff's allegation that he would stop payouts to avoid selling Bitcoin.

Strategy (MSTR) executive chairman Michael Saylor pushed back on Ponzi critics of the $3.2 billion-a-month STRC engine. The company’s own purchases are too small to move the Bitcoin (BTC) market, he added.

Saylor said the company is prepared to sell Bitcoin to pay dividends on its STRC preferred stock if necessary, but stressed the company intends to be a net buyer of the cryptocurrency “forever”, in an interview published on Saturday.  

He said, “If I was being more precise, I'd say, never be a net seller of Bitcoin. It just wouldn't have been so viral or so catchy." Saylor’s comments come as a clarification, first hinted at during the company’s earnings call, which prompted a strong reaction online, given Saylor’s long-standing “never sell your bitcoin” mantra.

When asked to reply to longstanding critic Peter Schiff, who claimed Saylor would eventually stop dividend payouts to avoid selling Bitcoin, Saylor’s reply was blunt.He said, "Peter thinks Bitcoin's a Ponzi scheme. Peter is not really a lover of anything in this space."

MSTR’s stock was up 0.5% in after-hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around MSTR remained in the ‘bullish’ zone, while chatter stayed at ‘high’ levels over the past day.

The Accretion Engine

Saylor called the issuance of STRC the company’s main “Bitcoin accretion engine.” Strategy sold $3.2 billion of STRC in April alone, vs. a monthly dividend obligation of about $80-90 million. "You would be buying 30 Bitcoin, selling one Bitcoin," Saylor said of the math.

He estimated the company’s break-even point at 2.3% annual appreciation of Bitcoin. That means the structure can pay dividends in perpetuity without having to sell common equity, as long as BTC compounds at or above that level. Bitcoin has traditionally appreciated by 30-40% annually, he explained.

He further noted that in the first four months of the year, Strategy has issued around $5 billion of STRC, on track for a 15-20% annualized issuance rate relative to its Bitcoin holdings. "The company, as long as it grows, is going to buy more Bitcoin than it sells. I expect we'll be a net buyer of Bitcoin in every month and every quarter going on forever," Saylor said.

Saylor compared the model to a real estate developer, saying, "A real estate development company raises capital by issuing a credit instrument, buys land at $10,000 an acre, develops it. It's worth $100,000 an acre, and then they monetize that capital appreciation… Nobody questions a real estate development company that makes a capital investment with a credit instrument. What we're doing is the same thing with Bitcoin."

Saylor Refutes Liquidity Concerns

Saylor disputed the argument that Strategy's purchase had a significant impact on Bitcoin's price, given the market's depth. "We bought $100 million of Bitcoin an hour, it doesn't move the price. We bought $200 million of Bitcoin an hour. It doesn't move the price," he said, adding that the spot market trades roughly $20 billion daily and the derivatives market $50–80 billion.

He suggested that the price of Bitcoin is determined by macro dynamics such as trade tensions, foreign policy, the Strait of Hormuz, currency conflicts, and Fed policy, rather than corporate flows. "It's the world's deepest, most liquid capital market."

Bitcoin’s price was trading at $80,775, up 0.6% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BTC dropped to ‘neutral’ from the ‘bullish’ zone, while chatter stayed at ‘normal’ levels over the past day. 

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