Garlinghouse Takes Aim at Saylor's Bitcoin-Treasury Model

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized Strategy's debt-and-preferred-stock Bitcoin accumulation model, calling it 'financial engineering' that does not drive long-term value.

'Durable value in digital assets is driven by utility,' Garlinghouse said during a CNBC interview. He emphasized that this approach has hurt the broader market and stressed his bullishness on Bitcoin itself.

The sharpest criticism centered on Strategy's STRC preferred stock, which trades about 25% below its $100 stated amount. Garlinghouse called this 'a damning indictment' of the company's financing strategy, as it shows investors demanding much more compensation to hold the securities funding Strategy's Bitcoin accumulation.

Ripple is positioning itself in contrast to Saylor's model, arguing that crypto winners will be defined by payments utility, settlement volume, and real institutional usage. The company has continued to frame its XRP and stablecoin strategy around these areas, even as XRP remains exposed to market cycles and technical weakness.