Last year, Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy (MSTR), was among the most influential figures in the bitcoin ecosystem. His company’s shares quintupled, even as US bitcoin ETFs entered the market.
This feature is part of CoinDesk List of the most influential of 2025.
However, the story in 2025 has been markedly different. MSTR has struggled to replicate the previous year’s bumper gains, and the stock is now negative year-to-date. This underperformance reflects a combination of internal and external pressures, including the compression of bitcoin volatility and the introduction of options on US spot ETFs, which have provided investors with alternative routes of exposure. These factors have led to a significant contraction in MSTR’s net asset value (mNAV) multiple.
In response, Strategy launched four perpetual preferred products in 2025 (STRK, STRF, STRD and STRC), raising $4.6 billion in IPO gross proceeds. Three of them have already generated strong double-digit returns, providing a non-dilutive mechanism for MSTR to expand its bitcoin holdings. The company has also expanded its preferred stock program internationally in Europe, with a euro-denominated preferred stock, Stream.
