Is Strategy’s New Stride a Genius or Just a Ponzi in Disguise? 😏

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Well now, on a warm summer day—June 3, 2025—Strategy, once known as MicroStrategy, rolled out a new perpetual stock called Stride (STRD). Folks are screeching and laughing, calling it either brilliant or just another shade of ‘Ponzi vibes’—because, why not? 😂

What is Stride?

After unleashing Strife and Strike, Strategy decided to spice things up with a fresh preferred stock—Series A Preferred Stock Stride (STRD). Picture this: a 10% noncallable, non-cumulative perpetual dividend, chugging along like a stubborn mule. Its dividend is higher than Strike’s 8%, but lower and less fancy than Strife, which also boasts a 10%. Seems like they’re stacking their financial deck, folks. đŸŽ©

$STRK v $STRF v $STRD Product Comparison — Chris Millas (@ChrisMMillas) June 3, 2025

Stride now joins Strategy’s trio of Bitcoin engines—along with common stock MSTR, and preferreds Strike (STRK) and Strife (STRF). They say it’s supposed to beast out big profits by playing with Bitcoin’s scarcity and wild price swings. But now, it looks like they’re adding yet another wheel onto this contraption—because one engine isn’t enough for the crypto circus. đŸ€č‍♂

And lo and behold, Stride is fee-free and offers a yield better than most boring ETFs—so long-term folks might just like it. However, they can buy it back if the earth moves beneath their feet or for tax reasons, and the dividends? Well, they flow when the Strategy bigwigs decide to pass the hat. A real game-changer. đŸŽ©đŸ’ž

What are the concerns?

But hold your horses—crypto Twitter’s donkeys are braying, calling this move “proof of Strategy’s trouble.” Critics holler that the company’s running out of cash faster than a gambler at a neon-lit casino, trying to make a quick buck. Because what could possibly go wrong if they’re just planning to sell off their Bitcoin to pay dividends? đŸ€”

This is a real slide in @Strategy’s presentation.

If they can’t raise capital, they intend to sell off their bitcoin holdings to payout dividend holder obligations

What could go wrong?

— Pledditor (@Pledditor) June 3, 2025

Then Nic Puckrin, CEO and part-time inquisitor over at CoinBureau, jumps into the fray on X, asking where all that dividend money is coming from. Is it coming from new investors? Will it dilute the stock? Might they have to sell more Bitcoin if the stock doesn’t catch on? And, in a fine twist of sarcasm, he wondered if this isn’t just a fancy Ponzi scheme in disguise. Shanaka Anslem Perera, a Bitcoin zealot, chimed in claiming that this whole thing smells like a Ponzi with a shiny new coat. đŸ•”ïžâ€â™‚ïž

The first quarter’s $4.22 billion net loss just makes everything smell fishier. If Strategy blinks and dumps its Bitcoin stash to keep payments flowing, it’s like throwing a wrench into the Bitcoin clockwork itself—and the investors in MSTR might be left scratching their heads wondering what just happened. 🐟

Why do some say Stride is a genius move?

Now, some will have you believe this shiny new stock isn’t a sign of a sinking ship. With Bitcoin soaring over $100,000, Strategy’s monstrous $8+ billion debt seems like chump change. Goldman Sachs even says that the only way Strategy fails is if Bitcoin halves its value by 2027—that’s a big “if.” So, for the gamblers and the dreamers, this looks like a masterstroke, not a sinking boat. 🎰

Adam Livingston, a proud investor and author, thinks Julian Saylor (the man with the plan) is a genius—at least for himself. He Tweets that Saylor’s getting “cheap capital, no dilution, optional payments, and can nuke it whenever he wants”—sounds like a financial wild west show, right? đŸ€ 

“Saylor gets cheap capital, no dilution, optional payments, and can nuke it whenever he wants.”

Livingston claims that the yield is just a fancy disguise for accumulating Bitcoin—kind of like hiding vegetables in a chocolate cake. And he insists that STRD doesn’t dilute the float, making it perfect for stodgy old institutional investors and pension funds who’d rather not get their hands dirty with actual Bitcoin. Because, after all, who needs to own Bitcoin when you can just yield on it? đŸ„±

💀 And STRD offers a tidy 10% yield for the steely-eyed traditionalists but for the Bitcoin true believers, it’s just Strategy rewriting the rules of scarcity—creating a synthetic halving, they say. Sure, it raises eyebrows about decentralization and original crypto morals, but from Saylor’s perch, Strategy just re-solidified its grip—like a cat with a new pair of claws. đŸŸ

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2025-06-04 17:42