Ripple CEO criticizes Saylor's Bitcoin financing strategy, calling STRC discount a "serious negative signal"

Odaily Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized Strategy and its chairman Michael Saylor's Bitcoin purchasing financing model during a CNBC interview on Friday, stating that "financial engineering cannot create long-term value," and that the long-term value of digital assets should ultimately be driven by actual utility.

Garlinghouse stated that the Saylor team is not focusing in the right direction and believes this approach has already harmed the overall crypto market. He also emphasized that he remains bullish on Bitcoin but opposes Strategy's strategy of continuously accumulating BTC through complex financing structures.

His criticism is primarily directed at Strategy's model of financing Bitcoin purchases through the issuance of preferred shares. STRC is one of the preferred shares issued by Strategy, carrying an annual dividend obligation of 11.5%. Recently, STRC was trading at a discount of approximately 25% to 26% from its $100 par value. Garlinghouse stated that this performance represents a "serious negative assessment" of Strategy's strategy.