Peter Shiff Says Strc Is Another "Ponzi" Scheme Like Bitcoin

Schiff Targets Strategy's Preferred Stock

@PeterSchiff has sharpened his long-running attack on @Saylor, this time directing his fire specifically at $STRC, Strategy's Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock. Schiff has called it a "classic centralized Ponzi scheme," drawing a pointed distinction from $BTC, which he describes as a decentralized variant of the same problem.

STRC is a financial instrument launched in July 2025 by Strategy Inc., the Bitcoin-focused company formerly known as MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor. The model is straightforward: Strategy raises cash by issuing STRC shares through at-the-market offerings, then uses the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin, without diluting common stock shareholders. The instrument carries a stated liquidation preference of $100 per share and currently pays an 11.5% annual dividend distributed monthly in cash. Strategy first priced STRC in July 2025, and the dividend was increased seven consecutive months before holding steady at 11.5% in April, the first month without an increase since inception.

Schiff's core Ponzi argument rests on a textbook definition: income paid out to existing investors comes from bringing in new investors, with proceeds from new buyers used to service payments to existing holders. He also claims Strategy has no meaningful income, noting that its software business generates some revenue, but nowhere near enough to cover the dividend obligations on STRC.

A Feud That Shows No Sign of Cooling

Schiff's core structural argument is that the model is circular: Strategy relies on new investor money to keep buying Bitcoin, which supports the stock price, which allows it to raise more money. He has also criticised the SEC for permitting Saylor to promote the instrument publicly.

Schiff has been clear that his objection is not about concealment. "I never accused Strategy of hiding the scheme. In contrast, I called STRC the most obvious Ponzi precisely because MSTR is so open about it," he said.

Not everyone shares that reading. Supporters of the instrument argue that Saylor does not need Bitcoin to go parabolic for STRC to work. He needs it to appreciate roughly 2% a year, enough to service the dividend and keep the mechanism turning. Most legal analysts have also noted that Strategy openly discloses in its SEC filings that dividends depend on continued capital raises, a transparency that traditional Ponzi schemes by definition lack.

The latest flare-up came after Strategy Chair Michael Saylor admitted during the company's first-quarter earnings call that $MSTR may sell some Bitcoin to pay dividends on its preferred stock. Schiff labelled that admission as further evidence of a Ponzi structure being prolonged, predicting that "when the time comes, he'd suspend the dividend and crash STRC rather than crash Bitcoin."

The dispute underscores Schiff's broader and long-standing skepticism toward digital assets as a whole, and shows no sign of resolution as Strategy continues to expand its Bitcoin treasury and its suite of capital-raising instruments.

Sources:
Yahoo Finance: Peter Schiff Calls Strategy's STRC "Obvious Ponzi" Scheme
TheStreet: Why Strategy's STRC Isn't the Ponzi Schiff Claims
Benzinga: Peter Schiff Says Saylor Would Crash STRC Rather Than Bitcoin