Bitcoin Is Slumping, but Michael Saylor Says Strategy Can Create $10 Billion to $30 Billion in "Digital Credit"

Michael Saylor used Strategy's (NASDAQ: MSTR) third-quarter earnings call to argue that the company no longer needs the two things that powered its growth for years. Saylor said that the balance sheet could support creating between $10 billion and $30 billion of what he calls "digital credit." He added that this financing move would not require Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) prices to rise or another common-stock sale.

Saylor's timing is notable. Bitcoin traded near $68,500 on Nov. 12, down about 18% over the past month, and Strategy's stock fell roughly 28% over the same period. Both have dropped even deeper over the last year.

What "digital credit" means

Strategy sorts its financing into three layers. Digital capital is Bitcoin itself. Digital equity is MSTR common stock. Digital credit is perpetual preferred stock. The label is new, but the product is still stock, so the claim covers common shares only. Preferred issuance remains the funding mechanism.

Strategy holds 850,364 Bitcoin as of Nov. 13, worth roughly $63.3 billion at today's prices. That's roughly 4% of the 21 million lifetime cap, or 4.2% of the circulating Bitcoin supply. Saylor reasons that this stockpile gives his company enough collateral weight to support credit-style products regardless of where the Bitcoin market goes. Idle collateral doesn't do much for its owner, and Saylor wants to put his Bitcoin treasury to work instead of waiting for a rally.

The $30 billion figure describes what Strategy could do in theory. It's a possible capacity, not an announced fundraising target, and no issuance date has been set. There's paperwork to do, board meetings to hold, and strategic decisions to make before writing that press release. A tavern's fire-code occupancy limit says nothing about how many people showed up on a Tuesday night, and the same logic applies here.

What it means for shareholders

Strategy is doing a lot with perpetual preferred stock offerings nowadays. The common stock's market cap is about $47 billion today, and its five classes of preferred stock total approximately $13 billion. There are four classes of American preferred stock, each with different interest rates and share counts. The Variable Rate Series A (NASDAQ: STRC) preferred stock leads this group with an $8.0 billion market value and an effective yield of 12%. There's even a Euro-denominated version with a much smaller market cap and slightly higher yield.

The company issues these preferred stocks to raise more funds for Bitcoin purchases. Then, Saylor and his team can defend their par values by buying back the preferred stock. And it's all backed by the massive Bitcoin pile.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

The catch

Preferred dividends get paid before common shareholders see a cent. Every new dollar of digital credit adds a firm payout obligation, and the common stock is the part of Strategy that has been taking the beating. The company isn't starting from zero here, either; about $13 billion of preferred is already outstanding against a common market cap near $47 billion. If Bitcoin recovers, the extra lever looks clever. If it keeps sliding, it's a heavier backpack on a steeper hill.

The numbers worth tracking are how much STRC Strategy actually sells, how much of its $1 billion common buyback gets done, and whether it keeps buying Bitcoin as expected. Until those show up in filings, "digital credit" is a promising phrase attached to classic preferred stock offerings and a loose capacity estimate.

Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.