Investment manager Ross Gerber isn't holding back his thoughts on Strategy Inc. (MSTR) and its Bitcoin accumulation playbook. On Tuesday, Gerber floated a thought experiment that was less "thought" and more "pointed criticism wrapped in sarcasm."
The Gold Company Nobody Asked For
Picture this, Gerber suggested: What if someone launched a public company whose entire business model was buying gold and storing it? And what if investors could buy shares in this gold-hoarding entity at a 1.5x premium to the actual value of the gold it owns?
Sound familiar? That's the point.
"You can pay 1.5x the gold I own because the business of buying gold is so special it deserves a premium... or maybe it should be a discount... as this actually costs money and destroys value," said Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management.
The parallel to Michael Saylor's Strategy is impossible to miss. Strategy shares currently trade at a substantial premium to the company's net Bitcoin value, a pricing dynamic that Gerber clearly finds absurd. His argument boils down to this: both gold and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) work just fine as investments on their own. Why pay extra for a leveraged wrapper that costs money to maintain?
The Strategy Model Under Fire
Gerber isn't alone in questioning Strategy's approach. Economist Peter Schiff has been even blunter, calling the entire business model unsustainable and worse.
But Saylor isn't backing down. Earlier this week, Strategy announced it had built a $1.44 billion buffer specifically designed to cover dividends and interest payments without having to sell Bitcoin during market downturns. It's a defensive move acknowledging a real vulnerability: what happens when Bitcoin crashes and you still have bills to pay?
Saylor also made an interesting admission recently. He said the company could sell its Bitcoin if shares start trading at a discount to the underlying BTC holdings. That's a notable hedge for someone who's spent years preaching the gospel of eternal Bitcoin accumulation. Strategy currently sits on 650,000 BTC acquired at an average price of $74,436.
Cramer Spots a Potential Squeeze Play
Market commentator Jim Cramer has a different read on what's happening. He thinks Saylor might be "engineering a squeeze of a lifetime" by saying one thing while potentially planning another.
For context, Saylor has repeatedly claimed that Strategy is "engineered" to survive an 80 to 90% drawdown in Bitcoin's price and keep operating. He's described the capital structure as "extremely robust," built to weather nuclear-level volatility.
Whether that's confidence or hubris depends largely on where Bitcoin goes from here.
Market Action
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $92,962.55, up 6.87% over the past 24 hours according to market data.
Strategy shares climbed 0.31% in after-hours trading to $181.90, following a 5.78% gain during Tuesday's regular session that closed at $181.33.
The stock has shown weakness across short, medium, and long-term price trends. How it stacks up against other Bitcoin treasury companies like American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC) remains a question for investors weighing exposure to Bitcoin through corporate vehicles rather than direct ownership.