MSTR shares rise as bank maintains $100K bitcoin target

Strategy Inc. (MSTR) shares rose Friday following a note in which Standard Chartered attributed recent bitcoin weakness to investor uncertainty over the company’s evolving strategy rather than deterioration in its balance sheet. The bank retained a $100,000 end-2026 bitcoin price target.

Last week Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for about $216 million, its largest single sale to date, and unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework that includes a bitcoin monetization program, a U.S. dollar reserve, share buybacks and support for a perpetual preferred stock, STRC. The company holds 843,775 bitcoin, roughly 4% of bitcoin’s maximum supply, and reported an $8.32 billion digital asset loss for the second quarter of 2026.

Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, wrote that the company’s sales and the new capital framework have created short-term uncertainty but do not change bitcoin’s medium-term outlook. He added: “Strategy’s actions are muddying bitcoin’s near-term prospects.” Kendrick also wrote that the firm appears to be moving away from its ‘never sell bitcoin’ pledge and that clear communication of the shift will affect how quickly pressure on bitcoin eases. He described the episode as “noise rather than a signal about bitcoin’s medium-term direction” and called bitcoin at current levels “a screaming buy.”

STRC, the perpetual preferred that carries a 12% annual dividend, fell as low as $71.25 intraday on June 26 after Strategy disclosed an earlier sale of 32 bitcoin. The preferred stock currently trades near $90. Strategy’s U.S. dollar reserve stands at $2.55 billion, which Standard Chartered estimated covers about 17.4 months of dividend payments. The bitcoin monetization program permits occasional sales and can raise up to $1.25 billion to support reserves, dividend payments, interest obligations and share repurchases.

Market participants offered mixed views. JPMorgan analysts warned that formalizing bitcoin sales creates “avoidable two-way risk” by making Strategy both a buyer and a seller of bitcoin. Grayscale’s head of research argued the sales strengthen Strategy’s balance sheet and could help establish a more durable price floor for bitcoin. Several banks remained constructive on the stock: Citi kept a Buy rating with a $260 price target, while Mizuho maintained an Outperform rating but trimmed its target to $213.

Standard Chartered noted that Strategy’s market net asset value multiple has fallen toward 1.0, limiting the company’s ability to issue shares and use equity to add bitcoin under its prior approach. The bank said Strategy is increasingly treating bitcoin as collateral to support STRC rather than relying solely on accumulation. Analysts and company spokespeople have pointed to STRC pricing and investor acceptance of the new framework as key factors for near-term pressure on Strategy’s shares and on the bitcoin market.