Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized Michael Saylor’s bitcoin acquisition strategy, arguing that the aggressive use of financial instruments to fund purchases has negatively impacted the broader cryptocurrency market.
Speaking during a recent CNBC interview, Garlinghouse questioned the sustainability of Strategy’s approach, which has relied heavily on issuing preferred securities to finance additional bitcoin purchases.
“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value … long-term value of any digital asset is going to be driven by utility,” Garlinghouse said. “Team Michael Saylor wasn’t focused on the right stuff, and that has hurt the overall market.”
At the center of Garlinghouse’s criticism is Strategy’s STRC preferred stock, which recently traded roughly 25% below its $100 par value.
He described the decline as a “damning indictment” of the company’s financing model, suggesting investors are increasingly questioning the effectiveness of using capital markets to continually expand bitcoin holdings.
 
Notably, Strategy has introduced several preferred securities over the past year to fund bitcoin acquisitions, including STRC, which carries an annual cumulative dividend obligation of 11.5%.
The approach has helped the company build one of the world’s largest corporate bitcoin treasuries, but has also drawn renewed scrutiny as market conditions have weakened.
Meanwhile, the comments came as bitcoin briefly slipped below $60,000, weighing on Strategy’s securities. On Thursday, STRC fell to a record low, trading as much as 26% below par value, while Strategy’s common shares dropped to their lowest level since February 2024 amid bitcoin’s decline toward $58,000. The stock extended losses on Friday, closing near $82.
Additionally, crypto analyst Xaif Crypto echoed Garlinghouse’s concerns on X, writing that the Ripple chief had said what “nobody in Bitcoin wanted to hear” by questioning the sustainability of Strategy’s “financial engineering” model and insisting that “Utility wins long-term. Every time.”
Meanwhile, market observers have begun to question whether Strategy should slow its pace of bitcoin acquisitions. Earlier this week, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant suggested the company may need to pause additional purchases and focus instead on rebuilding cash reserves as market conditions remain uncertain.
Garlinghouse’s remarks underscore the longstanding philosophical divide within the digital asset industry. While bitcoin advocates such as Saylor argue that aggressive BTC accumulation can create long-term shareholder value, Garlinghouse maintains that lasting value in digital assets will ultimately be driven by real-world utility, adoption, and network usage.
That said, the latest exchange between two of crypto’s most prominent figures highlights the broader debate over how companies should gain exposure to digital assets and whether debt-funded accumulation strategies can remain viable during prolonged periods of market volatility.
At press time, BTC was trading at $58,962, reflecting a 2.65% loss in the past 24 hours.
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