Analysts at investment bank Bernstein say that Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has demonstrated its resilience through the latest cryptocurrency downturn, reinforcing its position as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. In a note published Tuesday, the analysts wrote that concerns over the company potentially selling off its Bitcoin holdings to stay afloat appear unfounded. They described the firm’s balance sheet as being on solid footing as Bitcoin shows early signs of a price recovery.
Bitcoin’s price tumbled from a peak of $126,000 in October to $63,000 last month, a decline that raised questions about Strategy’s financial stability. The Bernstein analysts now believe the asset has likely reached its bottom and project it will climb to $150,000 by the end of the year. That forecast represents a roughly 114% increase from Bitcoin’s current price of approximately $70,000.
Not all market participants share that optimism. Users on Myriad, a prediction market platform operated by Dastan, the parent company of Decrypt, are evenly divided on Bitcoin’s near-term direction. The platform currently shows roughly 50/50 odds on whether Bitcoin will next rise to $84,000 or fall to $55,000, reflecting broader uncertainty among retail participants.
Despite the price decline, Strategy has continued to expand its Bitcoin stockpile aggressively. The company has added approximately 86,000 Bitcoin so far this year, bringing its total holdings to 762,099 Bitcoin. That sum was valued at around $53.2 billion as of Tuesday, and the analysts noted that Strategy is on track to record its second-largest quarterly Bitcoin acquisition since it began accumulating the asset in 2020, even as prices have fallen roughly 20% since the start of 2026.
The analysts drew attention to Strategy’s preferred share product, STRC, as a key mechanism enabling the company’s continued purchases. They wrote that the dividend-paying instrument allows Strategy to keep buying Bitcoin at an aggressive pace without diluting returns for common shareholders through routine share issuance. STRC, which pays an annual dividend of 11.5%, was described by Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor shortly after its launch as suitable for everyday consumers. The product has since begun appearing on the balance sheets of peer companies.
Bernstein reiterated an “Outperform” rating on Strategy’s stock along with a price target of $450. The company’s shares were trading at around $136 on Tuesday, representing a 58% decline over the past six months, according to Yahoo Finance. The gap between the current price and the analysts’ target reflects their longer-term conviction in the company’s Bitcoin-focused strategy.
The analysts also addressed the widely held view that Bitcoin operates on four-year price cycles, arguing that the asset’s market structure has matured significantly following the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States. They described Strategy as functioning as a “Bitcoin bank of last resort” and noted that Bitcoin ETFs are drawing more stable, less speculative capital into the market. In their view, this shift is gradually building a more resilient capital base for the asset, potentially altering the historical cycle-driven price behavior.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
