Michael Saylor Blames Short Sellers for Bot Attacks on Strategy

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, claims that the company’s harshest critics aren’t retail investors or analysts, but a coordinated network of bots funded by short sellers.

Key Takeaways:

• Michael Saylor claims short sellers are using paid bot networks to amplify criticism against Strategy.
• Strategy’s stock has dropped to a five-month low despite only a modest decline in Bitcoin’s price.
• Veteran short seller Jim Chanos dismissed Saylor’s claims and renewed criticism of Strategy’s leveraged Bitcoin-based valuation model.

In a recent interview with podcaster Natalie Brunell, Saylor alleged that negative sentiment online is being amplified artificially.

“A short seller in my stock has actually paid a digital marketing organisation to spin up a bunch of bots to post a bunch of nasty, awful, skeptical cynicism,” he said.

“It’s very transparent to me that someone paid some money to create the appearance of a protest.”

The remarks come as Strategy’s stock trades near five-month lows, falling to $323 last week despite only an 8% drop in Bitcoin from its recent peak.

The firm, now valued at $97 billion, has become synonymous with corporate Bitcoin exposure under Saylor’s leadership.

However, not everyone is convinced by Saylor’s claims. Veteran short seller Jim Chanos, best known for exposing Enron, fired back on X: “This is a pretty serious allegation stated as a fact,” he wrote. “Most of the mNAV bears have been pretty transparent on their reasoning.”

Chanos has repeatedly voiced concerns over Strategy’s financial model, which centers on issuing Bitcoin-backed preferred shares to accumulate more BTC. He’s compared the company’s approach to the speculative frenzy of the 2021 SPAC boom.

“We are seeing SPAC-like 2021 numbers in the Bitcoin treasury market right now,” Chanos warned in July.

This is a pretty serious allegation stated as a fact. Would love to see the evidence of this, as most of the mNAV bears have been pretty transparent on their reasoning. $MSTR https://t.co/AU4v2JHvqz

He’s also criticized Strategy’s valuation strategy, which encourages investors to apply a multiple not only to the company’s current Bitcoin holdings but also to the expected growth of those holdings.

“Mr. Saylor wants you to value his business based not only on the net value of his Bitcoin holdings, but additionally with a multiple on the change in that NAV,” Chanos said.

“Because now he can leverage his balance sheet, lol.”

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, added 4,048 BTC for $449.3 million between August 25 and Monday, bringing its total holdings to 636,505 BTC.

The latest buy came as Bitcoin’s price briefly touched $113,000 before sliding under $108,000, with the average purchase price at $110,981 per coin.

In total, Strategy acquired 7,714 BTC during August, down from 31,466 BTC in July, through multiple smaller purchases, including 3,081 BTC last week.

The firm has now spent roughly $46.95 billion on its Bitcoin reserves, averaging $73,765 per coin.

As reported, Saylor has joined the ranks of the world’s richest individuals, debuting on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index this week with an estimated net worth of $7.37 billion.

The bulk of Saylor’s wealth, approximately $6.72 billion, is tied to his equity in Strategy, the Nasdaq-listed firm known for its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

Bloomberg estimates another $650 million of Saylor’s assets are in cash.

The billionaire joins other crypto industry leaders on Bloomberg’s top 500, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, currently ranked 234th with $12.8 billion, and Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao at 40th with $44.5 billion.

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