Strategy CEO Phong Le said the firm raised 21 months of dividend runway in eight days to calm investor concerns during a Bitcoin slump. He told CNBC’s Power Lunch the company began raising capital and putting US dollars on its balance sheet “to get rid of this FUD.”
On Monday, Strategy announced a $1.44 billion USD reserve funded through a stock sale. The reserve is intended to cover at least 12 months of dividend payments and will eventually expand to a 24‑month runway, the firm said.
The raise responded to worries that Strategy might struggle to service debt and dividend obligations if its stock fell sharply. Le said there was “FUD” suggesting the company couldn’t meet dividend obligations, which encouraged short bets against Bitcoin. “We weren’t going to have an issue to be able to pay our dividends, and we weren’t likely going to have to tap into selling our Bitcoin, but… There was FUD that was put out there that we wouldn’t be able to meet our dividend obligations, which causes people to pile into a short Bitcoin bet,” he said.
Le added: “We just addressed that — in eight and a half days we raised $1.44 billion — 21 months’ worth of dividend obligations, and we did it 1) to address the FUD, but 2) to show people that we’re still able to raise money in a Bitcoin downcycle.”
Previously, Strategy said it would consider selling Bitcoin only if its stock fell below net asset value and the company lost access to fresh capital. The firm also launched a “BTC Credit” dashboard claiming it currently has enough assets to service dividends for more than 70 years.
