S&P Global Ratings has assigned a “B-” credit rating to Michael Saylor’s Strategy, placing it within speculative, non-investment-grade territory—often termed a “junk bond”—while noting that the outlook for the Bitcoin treasury company remains stable.
“Strategy’s significant bitcoin concentration, limited business focus, poor risk-adjusted capitalization, and minimal US dollar liquidity are seen as weaknesses,” the credit rating agency commented in a Monday review.
Strategy has built its treasury of 640,808 BTC primarily through equity and debt financing. The stable outlook suggests the company will carefully manage convertible debt maturities and uphold preferred stock dividends, potentially through further debt issuance.
S&P Global pointed out that Strategy faces an “inherent currency mismatch,” with all debt payable in US dollars, even as a significant portion of its dollar reserves is earmarked for its software operations, which run close to breakeven in earnings and cash flow.
This credit rating is noteworthy as it is the first assessment given to a Bitcoin-treasury-focused company by S&P Global, creating a benchmark for traditional finance to evaluate the credit risk of firms whose operations revolve around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Strategy is on par with Sky Protocol
In August, Strategy received the same score as decentralized stablecoin issuer Sky Protocol, previously known as MakerDAO.
S&P Global attributed Sky Protocol’s B-minus rating to its high depositor concentration, centralized governance, and weak capitalization.
For Strategy to move out of the “junk bond” status, its rating will need to increase six levels—up to BBB-minus.
This most recent rating comes as Strategy has been one of the Nasdaq’s best-performing stocks in 2024, soaring 430%. However, MSTR has experienced a 13% retracement so far in 2025, according to Google Finance data.
Notably, there was a 2.27% increase on Monday, suggesting that S&P Global’s rating did not adversely affect the company’s share price.
Strategy must increase US liquidity, reduce reliance on debt
While S&P Global indicated that an upgrade in the next 12 months appears unlikely, it mentioned that ratings could be elevated if Strategy enhances its US dollar liquidity, reduces convertible debt, and continues exhibiting robust access to capital markets, even during Bitcoin downturns.
Related: BCP becomes first Peruvian bank to offer regulated crypto access
Nevertheless, S&P Global warned of a risk associated with Strategy’s convertible debt potentially maturing amidst “severe Bitcoin stress,” which could force the company to sell some of its Bitcoin at “depressed prices.”
The rating for Strategy could decline further if its access to capital markets weakens, limiting its ability to raise funds and maintain its Bitcoin strategy.
Magazine: Mysterious Mr Nakamoto author: Finding Satoshi would hurt Bitcoin
