Garlinghouse Slams Saylor's 'Financial Engineering' in Cryptocurrency Market

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor's approach to financing Bitcoin purchases. Speaking to CNBC, Garlinghouse argued that financial engineering does not create long-term value in digital assets. He stated, 'Financial engineering doesn't create long-term value. The long-term value of any digital asset is determined by its use case.'

Garlinghouse specifically targeted Strategy's use of preferred stock, STRC shares, which carry an annual cumulative dividend obligation of 11.5 percent and are used to finance additional Bitcoin purchases. The STRC shares have been trading approximately 25 percent below their nominal value of $100.

Ripple's CEO believes that this approach has had negative consequences for both Strategy and the overall cryptocurrency market. Garlinghouse stated, 'Michael Saylor's team didn't focus on the right things, and this harmed the overall market.'