Once a business intelligence software company, Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) has become one of the most closely watched institutions in the cryptocurrency world following its aggressive pivot to Bitcoin treasury holdings.
The company was originally founded in 1989 by Michael Saylor under the name MicroStrategy, building its reputation through data analytics and business intelligence software designed to help companies make better decisions.
Strategy went public on the NASDAQ in 1998 under the ticker MSTR, and its share price spiked sharply in 2000 before trading in a narrow range for roughly the next two decades.
The company’s trajectory changed dramatically in 2020, when Saylor led the decision to adopt Bitcoin as the firm’s primary treasury reserve asset, citing concerns about the devaluation of the U.S. dollar and the threat of inflation.
Strategy’s first Bitcoin purchase totaled $250 million, framed explicitly as a hedge against economic uncertainty, and the move established Saylor as one of the most prominent figures in institutional cryptocurrency adoption.
The company dropped the “Micro” from its name in February 2025, rebranding simply as Strategy in a move that drew comparisons to the famous advice given to Mark Zuckerberg to drop “The” from “The Facebook” in the film The Social Network.
Strategy’s model of financing Bitcoin acquisitions through the sale of debt has attracted significant scrutiny from analysts and financial media, with concerns centering on the risks of forced liquidations during a market downturn.
In November 2024, Robinhood-backed Sherwood Media highlighted what it described as the “math problem,” noting that MSTR was trading at roughly three times the value of the Bitcoin it actually held on its balance sheet.
This premium, known as the company’s mNAV, or its multiple to net asset value, reached as high as 3.89x in November 2024, reflecting strong investor appetite for Strategy as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin exposure.
As Bitcoin prices fell in 2026, Strategy’s mNAV dropped below 1, meaning the company’s market capitalization is now valued at less than the total worth of its Bitcoin holdings, a significant reversal from its historic premium.
In a notable departure from its long-standing position, Strategy revealed in June 2026 that it had sold 32 BTC, marking a pivot from what had previously been characterized as a “never sell Bitcoin” stance under Saylor’s leadership.
Despite the challenges posed by falling Bitcoin prices and a collapsing mNAV, Strategy remains one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin in the world, making its financial performance closely tied to the broader direction of the cryptocurrency market.
