After tackling the threat of exclusion from the MSCI index, Bitcoin corporate finance pioneer Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is facing another FUD.
Some community members claimed that the company has been purchasing derivatives or “rehypothecated” coins, also known as paper BTC.
However, Michael Saylor, founder and chairman of Strategy, has dismissed these claims clarified,
“We buy real Bitcoin. We vet our servicers. We don’t do new mortgages. You shouldn’t either.”
The strategy is being scrutinized with regard to the BTC holdings
Currently, Strategy owns 712,000 BTC, most of which was accumulated in the last two years. In 2024, the company invested approximately $20 billion in Bitcoin [BTC] and added another $23 billion in crypto assets by 2025.
So far in 2026, it has invested nearly $4 billion in crypto assets and acquired more than 40,000 BTC.
Source: CryptoQuant
Interestingly, the 2026 bid even rivaled the 11,700 BTC mined this year. For some analysts, like Jesse MyersThis meant that the assets would eventually recover during the supply crunch.
But the price charts are muted despite the Strategy’s aggressive multi-billion dollar BTC bids.
This led Jameson Lopp, a security researcher and founder of the BTC custody platform CasaHODL, to question whether he is actually buying the real BTC. He stated,
“Your statement is sensible (BTC rises as Strategy buys more)…assuming he buys real bitcoin.”
He wondered whether the company can verify that its assets are not being used by the custodians for other purposes.
“Does Strategy actually verify that their Bitcoin belongs only to them and is not being re-mortgaged? I’m skeptical.”
Strategie’s +110K BTC untraceable
Strategy currently uses three custodians to store its BTC: Coinbase, Anchorage, and Anchorage Digital. About 420,000 BTC of strategy inventory is held at Coinbase and Anchorage and is traceable because they use separate addresses, according to an on-chain analyst.
In fact, the stock of these two custodians is also tracked by Arkham, which estimates it at 415K BTC.
More than 183,000 BTC was reportedly sent to Fidelity Custody, but the lack of separate wallets like Coinbase and Anchorage makes tracking these holdings a challenge.
Source: Arkham
That leaves over 110,000 BTC missing from these three custodians, noted analyst Sani. In fact, this is the main claim and what critics use to question whether Strategy actually owns the entire +700K BTC it claims to own.
At the time of writing, Saylor did not respond to calls on social media to share “proof” of the untraceable BTC’s assets.
Meanwhile, Strategy’s MSTR stock price slid about 2% to $157.45 at the time of writing. This followed BTC’s 1.5% decline after the FOMC meeting.
Final thoughts
- Saylor denied claims that his company purchased “paper BTC” or mortgaged its assets for other purposes.
- More than 110,000 BTC owned by Strategy are untraceable, while more than 185,000 BTC held in Fidelity Custody cannot be verified.