'Most Obvious Ponzi': Peter Schiff Attacks Strategy's Bitcoin Model as Saylor Confirms Buying Break Ahead of May 5

The Sunday ritual of the crypto community - waiting for the "orange dot" from Michael Saylor - ended this week with an unexpected message from the head of Strategy: "No buys this week". For the first time in a long while, the company's aggressive BTC accumulation engine went silent.

The reason for the "dry week" lies in the technical state of the financing instruments. Strategy currently resembles a complex financial mechanism operating on two "engines", and both failed to deliver the required output this week:

• STRC (Stretch Preferred Stock): This instrument - Saylor's flagship with an 11.5% yield - works effectively only when it trades above its $100 par value. Over the past two weeks, STRC has remained in the "red zone" below $100, making capital raising through this channel unattractive.
• MSTR ATM (At-the-Market equity sales): After purchasing 3,273 BTC at the end of April, the company chose not to overheat its own stock price ahead of the key Q1 2026 earnings call on May 5.

New 'Orange Dot' chart posted by Michael Saylor on May 3 2026, Source: Michael Saylor's X

This technical friction and the temporary inability to use its main lever, STRC, created a perfect moment for critics to question the architecture of the company's Bitcoin acquisition strategy.

Schiff labels Strategy a 'Ponzi,' and the most obvious one

The loudest voice of this skepticism came from none other than Peter Schiff, who rushed to label STRC "the most obvious Ponzi in history," precisely because the company is completely transparent.

He argues that the mathematical bet on BTC growing above 11.5% annually to cover dividend payouts is essentially gambling disguised as a corporate strategy.

Strategy CEO @phongle refuted my claim that $STRC is a Ponzi scheme by arguing it’s “transparent” and “very clear what we’re doing.” But I never accused Strategy of hiding the scheme. In contrast, I called STRC the most obvious Ponzi precisely because $MSTR is so open about it.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 3, 2026

Strategy CEO Phong Le counters that transparency is the antidote. Unlike Ponzi schemes, there are no hidden gaps here: the assets sit on-chain, and capital is raised from institutions that knowingly buy leveraged exposure to Bitcoin. Schiff responds that if you openly say you are building a pyramid, it does not stop being a pyramid.

As of early May 2024, Strategy holds 818,334 BTC. Despite the pause, the average purchase price at $75,537 remains below market levels, keeping the portfolio in profit.