As Bitcoin languishes in the low $60,000 range, divisions within the community are reaching a boiling point and the knives are out.
BIP-110 supporters vs Core, Dr. Jack Kruse vs. Natalie Brunell, Matt Kratter vs. Michael Saylor, the timeline is awash in one flame war after another.
Adding fuel to the fire this week was the bloodbath we saw in the preferred shares offered by Bitcoin treasury company.
Adding fuel to the fire this week was the bloodbath in the preferred shares issued by Bitcoin treasury companies.
Marketed as savings account-adjacent and money market fund-like products designed to provide income while reducing exposure to Bitcoin's volatility, securities such as STRC came under intense selling pressure.
The selloff has reignited debate around the Bitcoin treasury company model, the risks embedded in these new yield products, and whether investors fully understood what they were buying.
So where does this leave Michael Saylor, the Bitcoin treasury company thesis, and a Bitcoin community that seems more divided than ever?
Other top stories from the week include:
Coinbase’s new AI agent will trade Bitcoin on your behalf.
Illinois passes the most aggressive Bitcoin tax in the country.
Bitcoin mining water heater cooks a perfect steak with waste heat.
Latest News
Adoption
Coinbase launches an SEC-registered AI investment advisor that can analyze portfolios, trade, identify tax-loss harvesting opportunities, suggest new ideas, and take account actions through chat.
Microsoft warns a new malware strain dubbed CryptoBandits is stealing Bitcoin seed phrases and wallet addresses by spreading through infected USB drives and silently redirecting transactions to attackers.
Geyser launches Field Partners, a network of 100+ trusted Bitcoin leaders helping local circular economies vouch for projects seeking funding, building trust between contributors and communities worldwide.
Regulation
Illinois enacts a 0.20% tax on the exchange, transfer, and custody of digital assets, creating what critics call the most aggressive state-level tax regime for Bitcoin and crypto in America.
Federal Reserve proposes requiring stablecoin issuers to maintain customer identification programs under the GENIUS Act, marking the central bank’s first major rulemaking to implement the new law.
CME Group is preparing to sue the CFTC over its approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures, escalating tensions over the oversight and approval of new crypto derivative products.
Markets
BlackRock's Bitcoin Premium Income ETF ($BITA) is now trading, offering spot Bitcoin exposure and targeting 15-25% annual yield through covered calls while seeking to capture at least 70% of Bitcoin's upside.
Franklin Templeton files for two ETFs that automatically reinvest stock dividends into Bitcoin, giving investors equity exposure while systematically increasing Bitcoin allocations through DRIP.
Bitcoin whales reverse months of selling as addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC control 7.17M BTC, their highest level since March.
Treasury
Peter Schiff says Michael Saylor could end up in prison after Strategy's STRC preferred shares fell as low as $82.50, while the company says its Bitcoin reserves cover 32 years of dividends.
Benchmark says Metaplanet's planned acquisition of Siiibo Securities could position the company to offer BTC yield products and build a Bitcoin-focused financial ecosystem in Japan.
Capital B shareholders approve raising up to $5.76B through new shares and up to $115.2B through credit instruments to buy more Bitcoin.
Mining
Oman now requires all licensed Bitcoin miners to use the government-backed OmanHash pool, giving regulators greater visibility into mining activity while raising concerns about centralization and censorship risks.
GoMining launches the GoBTC Pay Gen1 SDK and API, a tool for merchants, wallets, and ecosystem partners to incorporate Bitcoin transactions.
Superheat cooks a steak entirely using waste heat from its Bitcoin-earning water heater, turning mining exhaust into useful household energy instead of letting that heat dissipate unused.
Politics
Andoni Olta of the Illinois Blockchain Association says Illinois’ new 20-basis-point tax on digital asset transactions sends a clear message to crypto businesses: pack your bags and leave the state.
Prospects for a July 4th signing of the Clarity Act appear dim, as Congress has just 9 working days left, unresolved ethics provisions, and procedural hurdles, though supporters remain optimistic about passage.
Farage’s opposition to a UK CBDC has drawn scrutiny over his ties to a Reform UK donor linked to Tether, highlighting the growing divide between state-backed and private digital money.
What Kind of Bitcoiner Are You?
Saylor recently split every Bitcoiner into four different tribes:
Maximalists
Capitalists
Technologists, and;
Fundamentalists.
The only problem is he left out one of the most important types…
This week the @_Rob_Wallace broke described the four camps, and discussed the 5th type he believes Saylor got wrong [watch below to find out which type you are👇]
Bam’s 2 Sats
The Week Strategy’s Yield Machine Got Tested
A couple of weeks ago, Strategy decided to sell 32 of its 840,000+ BTC, and the market responded by sending the price of Bitcoin straight down from $75K to $60K.
During this time, the company repaid $1.5 billion of convertible debt and continued issuing common stock to fund additional Bitcoin purchases. After the debt repayment, Strategy's corporate treasury declined to approximately $1.1 billion.
Even though the cash reserve was enough to cover roughly 7.7 months of dividend payments, and the company claimed its Bitcoin holdings could support dividends for another 31.6 years, a metric many critics dispute, the market was not impressed.
STRC, Strategy’s newest preferred stock, failed to recover back to its $100 par value after the most recent ex-dividend date, even as it transitioned to twice-monthly dividend payments. Instead, selling pressure intensified throughout the shortened trading week, sending shares as low as $82.50.
That was finally when buyers stepped in, apparently deciding the risk-reward had become attractive. At $82.50, investors were locking in an effective yield of roughly 13.9%, along with the potential for about 21% upside if the shares eventually return to par value.
The key question now is simple:
Will STRC make its way back to par?
And will the company be able to continue paying the dividends?
A quick look through X shows strong arguments on both sides. Investors are analyzing the same data and arriving at completely different conclusions about the sustainability of the payout.
Regardless of where the numbers ultimately lead, Michael Saylor is facing growing criticism. Haters accuse him of using overly aggressive marketing to promote these products as a way for investors to reduce volatility, protect retirement savings, and earn double-digit yields, while supporters argue the strategy remains backed by substantial Bitcoin reserves and cash flow.
The reality is that if you were relying on STRC for retirement income, this past week was probably not a comfortable experience. Watching a security marketed for stability fall nearly 18% below par likely left many investors questioning whether the risks had been communicated clearly enough.
So what happened?
These kinds of novel financial products always come with risks, and this week may have offered a glimpse of what happens when those risks are suddenly repriced.
Some investors were potentially buying STRC using the maximum leverage allowed by their brokerage accounts, assuming volatility would remain in the 1–2% range while paying 4–6% interest on margin to capture the yield spread.
Instead, the risk arrived quickly. As the price fell, leveraged positions may have been forced to unwind, adding further selling pressure and pushing STRC to the lowest levels it has seen since launch.
So will STRC come back to par? There are different takes on this.
Some analysts argue that investor confidence has been damaged and point to the company's estimated $10–12 billion in obligations over the next two years, including dividend payments and convertible debt maturities. In their view, this could eventually force Strategy to sell significant amounts of Bitcoin, making it more difficult for STRC to recover back to par.
Other analysts, like Jesse Myers see the situation very differently. They argue the selloff was a targeted attack on STRC and that the path to recovery is relatively straightforward: continue making dividend payments, potentially raise the dividend, or even repurchase shares at a discount.
Under that view, sustained execution could restore investor confidence and attract buyers back to the stock. If that happens, the market could eventually reprice STRC closer to its $100 par value.
But as always, there are no guarantees.
From my perspective, the situation is fairly straightforward. If STRC truly represents Strategy’s "iPhone moment," then the company will likely be willing to dilute common shareholders in order to rebuild confidence in the product. If successful, that confidence could allow Strategy to keep raising capital, supporting both its preferred stock offerings and its Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
The tradeoff is clear for common shareholders. They benefit if Bitcoin continues to compound at a rate that meaningfully exceeds STRC's yield, whether that ends up being 11.5%, 13%, or even higher. If it does not, common shareholders could bear the cost through ongoing dilution as the company raises capital to support its growing stack of income-oriented securities.But I doubt the company ends up selling any substantial amount of Bitcoin in the long run.
Even though I find all of this fascinating, especially because of its potential impact on Bitcoin's price, my conclusion remains the same.
If your goal is long-term Bitcoin exposure, it is probably better to accumulate the same pristine asset that all of these Bitcoin treasury companies are working so hard to acquire.
Bitcoin.
Keep building. Keep stacking.
- Bam
