Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse isn’t pulling punches. In recent remarks targeting Michael Saylor’s Strategy, Garlinghouse drew a hard line between what he sees as genuine value creation and what he considers financial wizardry dressed up as innovation.
“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value… long-term value of any digital asset is going to be driven by utility,” Garlinghouse said.
STRC’s painful descent
The numbers tell an uncomfortable story for Strategy investors. STRC, the company’s perpetual preferred stock, is trading at roughly $74 as of late June 2026. That’s about 26% below its $100 par value.
Both STRC and MSTR shares hit 52-week lows in June 2026, compounding the pain for shareholders who bought into Saylor’s vision of a Bitcoin-powered corporate treasury.
