Strategy builds $4.75 billion cash cushion as only bitcoin isn’t enough for investors

What this means: Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company has adjusted its approach after discovering that preferred stock investors put a premium on cash liquidity.

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• Strategy now holds $4.75 billion in cash, providing about 2.7 years of dividend coverage, Le said in an interview on CoinDesk’s Public Keys with Jennifer Sanasie.
• Le said he initially assumed investors would value bitcoin highly because it is liquid and has appreciated significantly over time.
• But institutions and investors putting shorter-term money into Strategy’s products “value cash more,” he said.

The context: The cash cushion is part of Strategy’s push to evolve beyond simply buying and holding bitcoin into a broader digital credit business.

• Strategy has developed preferred-stock products such as STRC for investors seeking bitcoin-linked returns with less volatility.
• Le described a spectrum ranging from investors seeking amplified bitcoin returns to those looking for lower-volatility yields closer to traditional credit or money-market products.
• “Would I rather hold Bitcoin? Perhaps,” Le said. But making Strategy’s preferred products work ultimately supports MSTR and its bitcoin strategy, he argued.

Reading between lines: Le is pitching Strategy as a financial platform built around bitcoin rather than merely a leveraged bitcoin proxy.