Strategy founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le said the company’s immediate priority is repairing and expanding its digital credit business, particularly STRC, rather than paying dividends on MSTR common stock or prioritizing common-stock buybacks. Speaking in a live investor Q&A hosted by Coin Stories Podcast host Natalie Brunell on August 17, 2026, Saylor said Strategy is in a Bitcoin bear market and should be prepared for several difficult months, one year or two years, while retaining its long-term bullish stance and continuing to accumulate Bitcoin. The interview took place before the market recovery, so some information may be outdated. Saylor described Bitcoin as digital capital, STRC as digital credit and future yield-bearing, relatively stable instruments as digital currency. He said expanding Bitcoin’s ecosystem requires channels for equity, credit and money-market capital, while the company’s strategy is to build credit products on Bitcoin rather than trade the asset over short periods. Phong Le said MSTR had risen 41% versus Bitcoin’s 32% since Strategy began adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet in August 2020, but Bitcoin had fallen 50% from its record high while MSTR had fallen about 75%. The executives said issuing equity above 1x mNAV (market value relative to Bitcoin net asset value), using STRC proceeds and repurchasing discounted preferred stock can increase Bitcoin held per share rather than necessarily dilute shareholders. Strategy currently favors STRC buybacks because the preferred stock is below par, while MSTR is not below mNAV. The company said it can use STRC proceeds for Bitcoin, dollars, MSTR, debt or other credit instruments, and plans to maintain growing dollar, Bitcoin and unrestricted cash reserves. Strategy said MSCI index funds represent about 3% to 4% of its float, with the potential effect of exclusion described as not material and possibly about 0.1% when Bitcoin holdings are considered. Management reported $4.8 billion in cash, an investment-grade framework centered on digital credit, institutional STRC ownership rising from 20% to 30%, and no current plan to change preferred-stock dividend schedules or pursue STRK buybacks. It also said STRC should trade near $99 to $100, with liquidity support intended to limit volatility, and that the company will not sacrifice STRC stability to deter roughly $300 million of short sellers. Strategy said its digital credit market is about $15 billion and could grow to $1 trillion, while its company duration is about 33 years and its current threshold yield is about 10.5%. The company will not acquire unrelated cash-flow businesses, will use institutional custodians and cutting-edge AI models to test Bitcoin security, and will not pay dividends in Bitcoin. Phong said AI-generated advertising improved retail adoption and produced positive website and engagement metrics, while Saylor said he makes multilingual Bitcoin AI videos.