Strategy CEO Phong Le is back in the leverage conversation, and this time it is not about bitcoin.
According to Protos, Le followed in the footsteps of Strategy founder Michael Saylor, who in March 2021 encouraged investors to use leverage, including mortgaging homes, to buy BTC. Five years later, Protos reports Le shifted the pitch from bitcoin to Stretch (STRC), a stock that Protos says lacks guarantees of principal repayment and offers variable “annualized dividends” that are not assured.
Protos describes Le’s claim from Natalie Brunell’s Bitcoin show. Le allegedly called STRC’s variable dividend stream “almost like a paycheck,” adding that it “is just coming in.” Protos also says Le noted the board could suspend payments at any time. In the same segment, Protos reports Le recommended STRC to people who “might have a mortgage to pay” and those with other monthly obligations like utility bills and car payments.
Le’s pitch turns into a personal example. Protos reports Le told Brunell he bought $250,000 of STRC and compared his “1.75% 30-year mortgage” to the product’s stated “11.5%” yield. Protos characterizes the framing as “making money” by moving funds from paying down the mortgage into an instrument paying the variable dividend.
The risk Protos flags
Protos does not just critique the math. It also points at what it calls accounting and disclosure problems. The desk notes Protos reports Le also made a misleading claim on the show, comparing STRC’s growth to Apple’s early iPhone sales. Protos says Le treated stock sales as “revenue” growing faster than Apple’s product sales, and Protos counters that raising capital by selling stock does not generate revenue, since revenue is a controlled accounting term.
More importantly, Protos highlights the mismatch between the “paycheck” analogy and STRC’s terms. Protos says Strategy’s own STRC information page states that cash dividends are not guaranteed and there is no guarantee of principal repayment. Protos also reports that the board can suspend payments and adjust the dividend interest rate at will.
Who the pitch targets, according to Le
Protos reports Le disclosed that around 80% of STRC stockholders are retail investors. Protos frames that as uncomfortable, given Le’s messaging to people with mortgages and other bills.
Protos’ core concern is simple. A mortgage payment is not optional. Variable dividends can be changed or suspended. Protos also notes Le’s motivation, saying his pitch comes from a “lavishly compensated executive” who “wants to just sort of go through the experience,” while the dividend focus is aimed at an investor base most exposed to financial strain.
If you are tracking Strategy’s crypto-adjacent ecosystem, Protos says the pivot from a bitcoin leverage pitch to an STRC dividend pitch is the headline move. But Protos is equally clear about what sits underneath. STRC is not positioned by Protos as a guaranteed income vehicle, and the repayment risk is part of the deal, not a footnote.