Ripple CEO Criticizes Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy While Remaining Bullish on BTC

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, labeled Michael Saylor’s leveraged Bitcoin model a “damning indictment”, pointing to MicroStrategy’s preferred stock, which is trading well below its $100 par value.

Garlinghouse reiterated his long-term bullishness on Bitcoin (BTC), but drew a clear line between his view on the asset and the financing structure Saylor has built around it.

Saylor’s Preferred Stock Under Pressure

Strategy’s STRC perpetual preferred stock traded around $74 at the time of Garlinghouse’s remarks. That placed it roughly 26% below its $100 par value. The discount has widened throughout 2026 as the market weighed Strategy’s growing financial obligations.

Annualized dividend payments tied to STRC have climbed to approximately $1.2 billion. More strikingly, Strategy’s dividend coverage window has narrowed from more than seven years to roughly 14 months.

Questions about whether STRC can remain viable under sustained pressure have intensified among investors.

Strategy also sold 32 Bitcoin in late May to fund STRC dividend payments. This marked the first time the company liquidated any BTC to service its financial obligations. The move drew scrutiny from analysts monitoring its capital structure.

Garlinghouse Argues Utility Drives Value

Garlinghouse’s critique targets the gap between financial engineering and long-term asset value. In his view, Saylor’s borrow-to-buy approach generates market pressure without creating the utility that sustains it.

“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value… long-term value of any digital asset is going to be driven by utility.”

Garlinghouse has consistently backed that argument with Ripple’s own positioning. He has cited XRP cross-border payment infrastructure as a contrast to leverage-driven accumulation strategies.

Ripple also released its 2025 impact report this week, showing more than $70 million donated during the year.

The company deployed RLUSD and XRP Ledger technology across small business lending, humanitarian aid delivery, and water access programs in multiple markets, with over $53 million in capital reaching underserved small business owners through its Accion Opportunity Fund partnership alone.

Ripple CEO Bullish on Bitcoin

Garlinghouse also noted that his bullish stance on BTC remains unchanged. He distinguished between the asset’s long-term potential and the risks introduced when companies borrow heavily to accumulate it.

The critique lands amid Bitcoin institutional treasury adoption becoming a dominant corporate trend in 2026. Strategy holds more than 843,000 BTC, roughly 76% of all Bitcoin on public company balance sheets.

Several other firms have followed a similar treasury model, though none approach Strategy’s scale or financial complexity.

Beyond STRC, Strategy also faces a securities investigation opened earlier in 2026, adding regulatory strain to its financial picture.

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