Ripple CEO stays bullish on bitcoin but says Saylor’s strategy has hurt crypto

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said he remains bullish on bitcoin but that Michael Saylor’s approach to funding bitcoin purchases has damaged the broader crypto market, in a CNBC interview on Friday, as the preferred stock at the center of Strategy’s model fell to a record low.

“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value,” Garlinghouse said, arguing that the lasting value of any digital asset comes from its usefulness. “Team Michael Saylor wasn’t focused on the right stuff and that has hurt the overall market.”

He separated that from his view on the asset itself, saying he is still bullish on bitcoin.

Garlinghouse’s target was the machine Strategy has used to accumulate bitcoin. For about a year, the company has issued preferred shares, a class of stock that pays a fixed dividend, to raise cash for more bitcoin.

Its STRC share carries an 11.5% annual dividend and is engineered to trade near $100. Garlinghouse pointed to STRC trading about 25% below that level as a “damning indictment” of the strategy.