Schiff Warns Saylor on STRC Liquidity Ahead of June 8 Vote

Peter Schiff, a gold advocate and critic of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy, warned Michael Saylor that MicroStrategy is running out of cash and asked, “What will you sell next?” The comment came as holders of the STRC income certificate prepare to vote by June 8 on a proposal to change dividend payments from monthly to semi-monthly.

The proposal would keep STRC’s annualized yield at 11.5% while doubling payout frequency. MicroStrategy says the revised schedule would reduce reinvestment lag, improve market efficiency and help stabilize the certificate’s price near its $100 par value. Both MicroStrategy’s MSTR shareholders and STRC holders must approve the amendment for it to take effect; if approved, the first record date under the new timetable would be June 30.

MicroStrategy notes that roughly 80% of STRC is held in retail accounts, a factor the company cites in framing the change as a benefit for income-focused investors.

Schiff has criticized MicroStrategy’s funding model, arguing the firm issues STRC shares and other equity to raise cash to buy Bitcoin, and then needs fresh equity issuance to fund dividend payments because Bitcoin produces no operating cash flow. He called the structure a Ponzi scheme and repeated his warning about dwindling liquidity, asking Saylor, “What will you sell next to keep the wheels from falling off?”

Liquidity concerns intensified after MicroStrategy repurchased about $1.5 billion of 2029 convertible notes for roughly $1.38 billion, a discount that reduced the firm’s USD Reserve to about $871 million from around $2 billion. During first-quarter earnings, Saylor acknowledged MicroStrategy could sell Bitcoin to cover dividends if other capital sources proved insufficient; Schiff cited that acknowledgment.

MicroStrategy paused Bitcoin purchases briefly while the buyback settled but added 24,869 BTC earlier in the same period using proceeds from STRC and equity sales. The company’s total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 843,738 BTC.

MicroStrategy has kept the STRC rate at 11.5% since April after seven consecutive monthly increases. The vote on payout timing is separate from the board’s rate-setting process. The June 8 vote will decide whether dividends shift to a semi-monthly schedule.