Strategy Inc.’s leveraged bet on Bitcoin is showing fresh strain, underscoring the rapid unwind of a trade that once turned corporate balance sheets into the market's hottest proxies for crypto exposure.
Strategy’s $17.4bn Loss Signals End of the ‘Treasury Trade’ Era
6 January 2026 - 13:37 CET
By Sandmark staff
The company (formerly MicroStrategy) disclosed an unrealized loss of $17.44bn on its Bitcoin holdings for the fourth quarter, according to a Form 8-K filing released on 5 Jan. The figure reflects the application of fair-value accounting rules, which now require companies to mark digital asset holdings to market each reporting period.
The premium collapses
Strategy held 672,497 Bitcoin at the end of the quarter, remaining the largest corporate holder globally. While the loss is non-cash, it crystallizes the structural shift facing Bitcoin treasury firms.
The company’s stock (MSTR) has sharply underperformed broader equity benchmarks in the second half of the year, compressing its multiple of net asset value (mNAV) close to parity. This marks a significant reversal from the premium levels that once underpinned its "flywheel" financing model.
The broken model
That compression mirrors a broader trend across the sector. As Sandmark reported earlier this week, nearly 40% of public Bitcoin treasury companies now trade at discounts to the value of the Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Strategy pioneered the approach of selling stock and debt at a premium to accumulate Bitcoin. But as spot Bitcoin ETFs have become the preferred vehicle for institutional exposure, investors no longer need to accept corporate execution risk or balance-sheet leverage to gain access to the asset class.
