Live updates: Bitcoin rises above $64,000 as big AI compute deals continue to roll in

“We have total control over the Strait [of Hormuz],” said President Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House a short time ago. “The blockade has been very effective.”

The news appears to have lit a spark under oil prices, which have surged nearly 3%, pushing Brent Crude to almost $91 per barrel, its highest level in about three weeks.

Strategy executives said STRC’s recent drawdown taught the company to keep more cash on hand and remain willing to trade both bitcoin (BTC) and its preferred stock.

CEO Phong Le said Monday that the biggest lesson was the need for U.S. dollar liquidity to backstop STRC dividends and build confidence among institutional investors. Strategy now holds $4.8 billion in dollars, he said.

Executive chairman Michael Saylor said the episode also changed how Strategy approaches its bitcoin holdings. “We have to be able to sell Bitcoin as well as buy Bitcoin for the Bitcoin to be fairly valued,” Saylor said.

He said refusing to sell bitcoin — which he had preached for years — to fund credit dividends could hurt how investors value Strategy’s credit products.

The same logic applies to STRC. Strategy must be prepared to buy STRC as well as issue it, Saylor said.

“We were very good at selling STRC at $100, and we were very good at buying BTC,” he said. “But now, we have illustrated to the market that we can sell BTC and we can buy STRC.”

Strategy (MSTR) is open to buying back its own shares at a deep discount to net asset value, though executive chairman Michael Saylor said the company has other priorities for its capital.

During a Q&A on X on Monday, Saylor said Strategy reviews its capital programs “week by week, day by day.” MSTR is not trading below NAV now, he said, making a buyback a lower priority.

“If MSTR is trading at a very, very deep discount to NAV, then probably you would see us do something like that,” Saylor said.

For now, Saylor said Strategy wants to strengthen its credit business. He argued that using capital for share repurchases could hurt that effort. Strategy has issued preferred stocks, including STRC, as part of its push to raise capital for bitcoin purchases.