Fate really does have a sense of humor. For months, we lived through The Big Short in bitcoinland, with quotes from the movie be represented in our industry and its prominent leaders on a daily or weekly basis. Before I left BM, I had an entire (unpublished) article appropriately interspaced by iconic Big Short quotes...

Today, it was time for another:

From the time you guys started talking, Bear Stearns stock has fallen more than 38 percent. Would you buy more now?

From the time the Strategy team started their earnings call, to when it ended two hours later, the bitcoin held by this giant, illustrious, trail-blazing financial-engineering monstrosity had fallen by 3 billion dollars.

That's billion with a b.

...almost the full amount of their negative net income (i.e., Wall Street accounting speak for "loss") for the year 2025. And that's on top a bitcoin that had itself fallen by 18% in two days, 30% in a week, and sat at -48% from its all-time high 100-something years ago (#1410584)

We are not in a good placeWe are not in a good place

I understand that the market conditions for today's call are challenging... thanks for everyone for joining us. [...] Some of you bought bitcoin or MSTR for the first time this year... and this is your first downturn; my advice is to hold on. --Phong Le, CEO

Remember why you bought bitcoin or Strategy's common equity in the first place. "NONE OF THESE FUNDAMENTALS HAVE CHANGED." (ish, I would add... price is truth; price appreciation and thus protection against fiat inflation is what makes bitcoin worthwhile... when that runs it reverse, YEAH, pumpamentals change.)

"This is our business," said Phong thereafter:

"I'm not worried; we're not worried; and no, we're not having issues""I'm not worried; we're not worried; and no, we're not having issues"

...and for the rest of the call, including meek and not very interesting Q&A from celebrities like Lyn and Larry, it was like nothing was going on. And I gotta hand it to them, the Strategy pitch can be ridic persuasive; Saylors robotic voice soothing and calming. I like the products, I like the things they're saying: Stretch, or digital credit, is indeed an amazing product. They sit on this giant pile of BTC and they can just keep sitting through basically anything.

man, for all the shit I fling their way, it is pretty dreamy-eye and inspiration to watch.

Oh, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy mention, with its DON'T PANIC reference, was very apt. I chucked. We needed that today.

"We can sit here and do nothing, and satisfy our dividends using our reserve — for the next 30 months" (Saylor)"We can sit here and do nothing, and satisfy our dividends using our reserve — for the next 30 months" (Saylor)

That really is the coolest portion. They're a pot of well-established, "amplified" bitcoin, and they can miraculously just sit.

• we're a digital credit issuer
• companies exist to turn capital into cash flow
• "the world is built on capital; the world runs on credit"
• what does Strategy do? Turn digital capital into digital credit

So, what advice did Mr. Saylor give to the thousands of people having tuned in, like a religious celebration, to watch Strategy's earnings call?

Cool, calm, and collected, in his mechanical voice devoid of human emotion, he spoke of investment horizons and the 4-year timeframe.

your time horizon needs to be minimum 4 years.... look at the simple 200-week MA, and invest with a 4-year DCA-type approach — and minimum holding period a decade. If you can't stand... can't take the volatility, then you think about the credit, the treasury credit.

STRC is the First Step in a Bitcoin Journey

So, Saylor, would you go out and buy more stock after this, like in the movie?
Yeah, probably you would. Yeah, probably the offices and (share) printing presses over at StrategyHQ ran hot tonight. We shall find out soon ehough.

Only posterity will know whether he becomes the Bruce Miller character of Michael Lewis' tale.