Strategy’s Bitcoin Stack Faces $13B Paper Loss As Phong Le’s Treasury Comments Circulate

Strategy CEO Phong Le says he initially wanted the company to put only a small portion of its balance sheet into Bitcoin, while Michael Saylor pushed for the far more aggressive approach that transformed the former software company into the world’s largest corporate BTC holder.

In a recent interview, Le said he originally favored putting only 5% to 10% of the company’s balance sheet into Bitcoin. Saylor pushed to “go all in.” Le’s conclusion was direct: “I was wrong” and “Mike was right.”

The admission lands at a tense moment for Strategy. The company’s Bitcoin strategy has produced one of the most extreme corporate balance-sheet transformations in public markets, but the same model is now being tested by a sharp BTC drawdown, preferred-stock obligations and renewed pressure on MSTR shares.

Strategy’s official Bitcoin dashboard shows 843,706 BTC held as of May 31, acquired for roughly $63.87 billion at an average purchase price of $75,699 per coin. With Bitcoin recently trading near $60,335, that position is worth about $50.9 billion, leaving Strategy with roughly $13.0 billion in unrealized losses versus its total acquisition cost.

The “Go All In” Decision Changed Strategy’s Identity

Le’s comment matters because Strategy did not simply add Bitcoin as a treasury diversifier. It rebuilt the company around BTC.

A 5% to 10% allocation would have made Bitcoin a balance-sheet hedge. Saylor’s approach turned Bitcoin into the company’s operating identity, capital-markets engine and investor thesis. Strategy now issues common equity, preferred stock and other financing instruments around the objective of increasing Bitcoin exposure over time.

That model has made Strategy a dominant buyer during parts of the cycle. It has also made the company one of the clearest public-market stress gauges when Bitcoin falls.

The latest drawdown has already forced investors to look beyond slogans. Strategy’s first Bitcoin sale since 2022 showed that the company can use small BTC disposals to support preferred-stock distributions, even while maintaining an overwhelmingly large long position. The 32 BTC sale was tiny relative to total holdings, but it changed how traders read the balance-sheet model.

Unrealized Losses Put The Model Under Pressure

Strategy’s unrealized loss now depends directly on the Bitcoin price. At roughly $60,335 per BTC, the company’s holdings sit about $15,364 below average cost per coin. Multiplied across 843,706 BTC, that creates a paper loss of approximately $13.0 billion.

That loss is not a cash outflow unless coins are sold, but it matters for investor confidence, financing costs and market perception. MSTR trades as a leveraged expression of Bitcoin sentiment, and preferred-stock demand depends partly on confidence that Strategy can keep funding distributions without weakening the Bitcoin-per-share thesis.

The stress is already visible in Strategy’s capital stack. STRC fell below $92 during the latest Bitcoin slump, pushing its effective yield above 12% and making the preferred-stock structure a central part of the market debate.

That is the trade-off behind Le’s admission. Saylor’s all-in strategy created extraordinary upside when Bitcoin rose and when capital markets rewarded the company’s BTC accumulation. It also concentrates pressure when Bitcoin trades below Strategy’s average cost and investors start questioning how the company will defend its funding channels.

Saylor’s Bid Still Shapes The Bitcoin Market

Le’s comment also fits a wider market-structure debate. Strategy has not only changed itself. It has changed Bitcoin’s demand profile.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju recently argued that Bitcoin could be much lower if Strategy and ETF buyers had not absorbed 1.24 million BTC from older whales over the past two years. That argument gives Saylor’s aggressive treasury strategy a broader role: Strategy has acted as a major structural buyer during a period when long-time holders distributed supply.

The current market is testing whether that absorption can continue. Bitcoin is trading near key support, ETF flows have weakened, Strategy’s BTC stack is underwater on cost basis, and preferred-stock investors are demanding higher yields.

Le’s “Mike was right” line captures the long-term conviction behind the trade. The balance sheet now shows the short-term cost of that conviction. Strategy still owns one of the largest Bitcoin positions in the world, but at current prices the company is carrying nearly $13 billion in paper losses while defending a capital structure built around the idea that Bitcoin will ultimately recover and outperform the cost of financing.

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