Markets Ripple's CEO Criticizes Saylor's Strategy but Remains Optimistic on Bitcoin
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, described the funding model used by Michael Saylor's Strategy as "financial engineering" that diverted attention from the market, citing the significant decline of STRC to its historic lows as evidence. His company is behind XRP, a competitor to bitcoin.
By Shaurya Malwa Jun 27, 2026, 7:58 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on
SummaryShow- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed his ongoing confidence in bitcoin while asserting that Michael Saylor’s preferred-share funding approach for acquiring the cryptocurrency has negatively impacted the wider crypto market.
- Garlinghouse critiqued Strategy’s STRC preferred stock, which offers an 11.5% dividend and is intended to trade around $100, labeling its recent drop to 25% below par as a "damning indictment" of the strategy.
- The strain on Strategy’s model has heightened as bitcoin dipped below $59,000.
Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, reiterated his positive stance on bitcoin but contended that Michael Saylor's method for financing bitcoin acquisitions has harmed the overall cryptocurrency market, in a CNBC interview on Friday, coinciding with the decline of the preferred stock central to Strategy's model.
"Financial engineering doesn't yield sustainable value," Garlinghouse stated, emphasizing that the true worth of any digital asset lies in its utility. He remarked, "Team Michael Saylor wasn't concentrating on the right priorities, which has adversely affected the entire market."
He distinguished this view from his perspective on bitcoin itself, maintaining his bullish outlook on the cryptocurrency.
Garlinghouse's criticism was directed at the mechanism used by Strategy to acquire bitcoin. For nearly a year, the company has been issuing preferred shares, a type of stock that provides a fixed dividend, to generate funds for further bitcoin purchases.
The STRC shares yield an annual dividend of 11.5% and are designed to trade close to $100. Garlinghouse pointed out that STRC's trading at approximately 25% below that benchmark serves as a "damning indictment" of the funding strategy.
On Thursday, the stock reached a historic low, falling as much as 26% below par, while Strategy's common stock also fell to its lowest point since February 2024, closing around $82 on Friday, all amid bitcoin's decline below $59,000.
This criticism coincides with a week where the pressure on the funding model has been mounting.
CryptoQuant reported that Strategy should halt its bitcoin acquisitions and focus on rebuilding its cash reserves, highlighting that the buffer supporting STRC's dividends has decreased from over seven years to roughly 14 months. When STRC trades below $100, the mechanism for issuing shares and acquiring bitcoin falters, prompting the company to pause its activities.
Benchmark-StoneX analyst Mark Palmer suggested that while Strategy's funding mechanism has become "less efficient," it is not broken, rejecting any comparisons to assets that have completely collapsed.
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