Peter Schiff’s criticism of Strategy’s Bitcoin yield sparked pushback from supporters of Michael Saylor’s treasury strategy.
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Key Takeaways
Peter Schiff cited a negative 3.7% year-to-date Bitcoin yield to challenge Strategy’s performance.
His criticism followed the company’s announcement of another purchase of 250 BTC.
Strategy supporters pushed back, pointing to previous gains and questioning Schiff’s own track record.
Peter Schiff has challenged Strategy’s latest Bitcoin buying announcement, arguing that its growing treasury masks a decline in Bitcoin held per common share.
The economist’s criticism prompted pushback from supporters of Michael Saylor’s company, who questioned his assessment and pointed to Strategy’s stronger performance last year.
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In an Oct. 12 post on X, Schiff responded to Saylor’s announcement that Strategy had acquired another 250 BTC.
“Yes, but the YTD Bitcoin yield for MSTR common stock is still negative 3.7%,” Schiff wrote.
He argued that Saylor had previously presented Bitcoin yield as a measure of the strategy’s success.
“Based on your own criteria, so far 2026 has been a failure, as Bitcoin per common share has declined.”
Yes, but the YTD Bitcoin yield for MSTR common stock is still negative 3.7%. At one time, Bitcoin yield was the metric you offered to measure the success of your strategy. Based on your own criteria, so far 2026 has been a failure, as Bitcoin per common share has declined.
Strategy defines Bitcoin per share using its holdings divided by assumed diluted shares outstanding.
That share count includes potential shares arising from convertible securities and equity awards.
The company uses BTC Yield to assess whether its capital markets activity and Bitcoin purchases have increased or reduced that ratio.
MSTR Bulls Challenge the ‘Failure’ Verdict
Replies beneath Schiff’s post challenged his timeframe and his credibility as a Bitcoin critic.
One respondent argued that Schiff had overlooked the previous year’s gains.
“Twenty-two-point-eight last year. Funny how you skipped that gain,” the account wrote.
Strategy reported a 22.8% BTC Yield for 2025, within its revised target range of 22% to 26%.
Other replies questioned Schiff’s gold calls.
One asked: “Does gold go up every year?”
Another challenged an earlier claim Schiff made about Saylor selling Bitcoin.
“Whatever happened to Saylor selling like $50b in Bitcoin Peter? You said that a while ago and I was just wondering if that was speculation or if you actually have a source for that,” the user wrote.
Strategy Buys Bitcoin While Repurchasing Preferred Stock
The announcement behind the exchange covered more than just another Bitcoin purchase.
Strategy disclosed that it acquired 250 BTC for approximately $21.5 million during Oct. 5–11, bringing its total holdings to 848,250 BTC.
During the same period, Strategy repurchased $192.4 million of STRC preferred stock, almost nine times its Bitcoin spending.
It reported no MSTR common-share repurchases for the period.
Earlier Bitcoin Sales Fueled Schiff’s Clash With Saylor
The dispute follows an earlier confrontation over Strategy’s Bitcoin sales and Saylor’s longstanding “never sell” message.
Strategy sold 1,638 BTC for approximately $104.7 million between July 27 and Aug. 2.
Although the sale represented only roughly 0.2% of its previous Bitcoin holdings, it raised questions about how those transactions aligned with Saylor’s public statements.
“When I say ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin,’ I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi,” he wrote.
“Strategy is a public company, not my wallet.”
Saylor added that the company had disclosed since 2020 that it could buy or sell Bitcoin to manage capital.
Schiff rejected that explanation, accusing Saylor of allowing investors to draw a different conclusion.
“Yes, but you knew the impression you were creating, and you never bothered to clarify it,” he wrote.
Schiff Previously Warned of a Bitcoin ‘Death Spiral’
Schiff’s latest criticism also follows an earlier warning that financial pressure on Strategy could spill into the wider Bitcoin market.
In a YouTube video, he argued that falling Bitcoin prices could force the company to sell its holdings to meet its obligations, adding further downward pressure on prices and making financing harder to secure.
Schiff suggested a retreat toward $30,000 could trigger a “cascade of selling,” potentially producing a decline more severe than previous Bitcoin downturns.
That remains his forecast. A falling Bitcoin price alone does not establish that Strategy would face forced liquidation; its ability to meet obligations also depends on cash reserves, access to financing, and the terms of its securities.
His warnings have also met resistance.
In an earlier X poll asking how far Bitcoin would need to fall before respondents accepted he had been right, 59% selected $0.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
