Is Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy A ‘Fraud’? Schiff Wants A Live Debate To Prove It
Peter Schiff, a long-time gold investor and vocal critic of Bitcoin, on Sunday called Strategy Inc.’s Bitcoin-only approach “a fraud” and publicly challenged Michael Saylor to a live debate at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai this December.
Schiff said the firm’s recent profits are mostly tied to the market price of Bitcoin and warned that the company’s financial structure could fail if investor sentiment turns.
Schiff’s Core Charge
According to Schiff, Strategy’s reported gains are largely unrealized and the company’s financing plan is risky.
He openly slammed the company, saying, “MSTR’s whole business approach is a fraud. No matter how Bitcoin performs, I expect MSTR to eventually face bankruptcy.”
MSTR’s entire business model is a fraud. Saylor and I will both be speaking at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai in early December. I challenge @saylor to debate this proposition with me. Regardless of what happens to Bitcoin, I believe $MSTR will eventually go bankrupt. Let’s go!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) November 16, 2025
He pointed to the company’s third-quarter results — net income of $2.8 billion and diluted EPS of $8.42 — as examples of earnings that, he says, come from mark-to-market increases in Bitcoin rather than steady business operations.
Schiff said that preferred shares marketed as high-yield may never produce the promised returns and that this could trigger heavy selling by yield funds.
Strategy’s own report shows it held about 640,808 BTC as of late October, at a total cost around $47.44 billion and an implied cost per coin near $74,032.
MSTR’s business model relies on income-oriented funds buying its “high-yield” preferred shares. But those published yields will never actually be paid. Once fund managers realize this they’ll dump the preferreds & $MSTR won’t be able to issue any more, setting off a death spiral.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) November 16, 2025
The company reported a 26% BTC Yield for the year-to-date and said it had realized close to $13 billion in BTC gains in 2025 so far.
Those figures help explain why the firm posted strong accounting profits even while its core software business generates modest revenue.
Debate Call Draws Attention
The challenge from Schiff is timed to overlap with Saylor’s speaking schedule at the Dubai conference, turning what might have been routine appearances into a potential public showdown.
Market watchers say a debate would be watched closely by investors, regulators and other corporate issuers who have been weighing Bitcoin exposure.
Some analysts say the strategy, while risky, gives investors a way to gain leveraged exposure to Bitcoin through a public company.
Others agree with Schiff that the accounting treatment and financing choices expose shareholders to sudden shifts.
Saylor and Strategy did not immediately accept or decline the debate invitation in public comments.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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