MicroStrategy’s Real Intention For Leveraged Bitcoin Buys Is To Manipulate BTC Price, Peter

MicroStrategy, the Michael Saylor-founded enterprise firm that has made purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) part of its corporate strategy, has grabbed the headlines after its recent purchase of 9,245 BTC using money raised through debt.

Prominent Bitcoin critic and gold proponent Peter Schiff has laid bare the supposed true intention behind MicroStrategy’s continued Bitcoin accumulation spree.

MicroStrategy Propping Up Bitcoin?

Peter Schiff has caused quite a stir on the X platform following his recent comments regarding Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy.

Schiff claimed in a Tuesday post that MicroStrategy had already incurred a $115 million loss on Bitcoin it recently acquired using borrowed money. The longtime crypto sceptic wonders why Saylor always borrows funds to purchase more Bitcoin after a parabolic rally.

“It looks like his true intention is to manipulate the Bitcoin price higher as he dumps his own $MSTR shares,” Schiff said.

Saylor and the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company, are no strangers to using BTC as collateral to borrow cash and purchase more Bitcoin. ZyCrypto reported that MicroStrategy purchased $623 million worth of Bitcoin using $592.3 million raised from its most recent convertible deft offering, plus excess cash. The company now holds a staggering 214,246 BTC, over 1% of Bitcoin’s overall supply.

Bitcoin enthusiasts have praised Saylor for his aggressive BTC strategy.

“It’s the best investment asset. So the endgame is to acquire more Bitcoin,” the MicroStrategy Chairman recently told Yahoo Finance. “Whoever gets the most Bitcoin wins. There is no other endgame.”

In a different tweet, Saylor claimed that MicroStrategy (MSTR) is down 16%, presumably as the company offloads shares to buy more Bitcoin. “CNBC is keeping its viewers in the dark while Bitcoin Whales quietly unload their stacks,” he added.

As if that’s not enough, the gold bug envisions a scenario where the price of Bitcoin falls to $10,000, leaving MicroStrategy down an eye-watering $5.5 billion.

Main Problem With Bitcoin ETFs

Schiff also had a few things to say about spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Unlike the Bitcoin market, which is open 24/7 globally, the liquidity of spot Bitcoin ETF is only limited to US market hours. With the BTC price crashing 6% overnight, ETF buyers could not exit the market. They had to wait until the market reopened in the morning. “Very frustrating to watch helplessly with no ability to get out,” Schiff said.

The alpha crypto is now trading well below its 2021 all-time high of $69,044 despite flipping silver’s market cap and soaring to new highs above $73,737 just last week.

What Next For Bitcoin Price?

Bitcoin’s current downward momentum comes as spot ETFs see their biggest outflows. The expected U.S. Federal Open Markets Committee press conference later today appears to be yet another key headwind. Fed chair Chair Jerome Powell will announce during the conference whether interest rates will be revised and share the committee’s outlook on the economy. 

That being said, the market looks ominous for bulls amid potential macro turbulence. 

“Almost $500M USD has flowed out of spot BTC ETFs in the past two trading days,” crypto commentator Tedtalksmacro observed on X.

“Traders taking a wait-and-see stance pre-FOMC (or just getting out) + tax season in the US being potential reasons for the slowdown. Regular programming will resume, but some chop first.”