We Won’t Back Down, Says Strategy’s Michael Saylor

Key Highlights

• Michael Saylor has stated in the latest post on X that his company is not backing off
• His statement comes after a previous post related to the MSCI controversy, which plans to implement new rules
• The cryptocurrency market is currently going through its biggest liquidation after Trump declared a trade war against China on Oct 10

Amid the current turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, Michael Saylor, executive chairman and co-founder of Strategy, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that “we won’t back down.”

I Won’t ₿ack Down

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) November 23, 2025

The cryptocurrency market is going through one of the biggest liquidation periods in 2025. An intense sell-off that started in early October has wiped out billions of dollars of the crypto investment. 

This downward trend comes after a sharp reversal from the recent peak of the crypto market. In its high, Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high of around $126,000. By the middle of November, Bitcoin had fallen over 30% from that all-time high. 

At the time of writing this, Bitcoin is trading at around $86,970 with a 3.5% surge in 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. 

The overall crypto market also received a huge amount of damage as it lost more than $1 trillion in market capitalization. At present, the total market capitalization of the crypto market revolves around $2.97 trillion. Other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and other altcoins, have also experienced sharp declines, with some dropping significantly as highly leveraged investments were forced to close. 

Trump’s Trade War Triggered the Biggest Liquidation in the History of Crypto

The immediate trigger of the collapse started on October 10 after the U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced a policy of 100% tariffs on goods imported from China.

This major escalation in the trade war between the two economic giants damaged the entire financial market, including the S&P 500 and cryptocurrency. 

Trump’s tariff announcement has damaged the crypto market massively. Data from analytics firm CoinGlass shows that over $19 billion in leveraged traders were liquidated within hours. This was the largest forced closure of positions in the history of crypto. It also surpassed the liquidations seen during the 2022 FTX collapse. 

Michael Saylor and Strategy’s Strong Confidence in Bitcoin

Strategy has gained popularity through its massive investment in Bitcoin. Currently, the company holds 649,870 Bitcoins, approximately 3% of the total Bitcoin supply, according to the data.

Response to MSCI Index Matter

Strategy is not a fund, not a trust, and not a holding company. We’re a publicly traded operating company with a $500 million software business and a unique treasury strategy that uses Bitcoin as productive capital.

This year alone, we’ve completed…

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) November 21, 2025

His recent statement comes amid the new controversy about his company’s future and debate with the global index provider, MSCI. 

The main reason behind the MSCI controversy is in how Strategy should be classified. The company’s primary asset is its vast Bitcoin holdings, valued at over $56.75 billion. This has made its stock a popular way for traditional investors to get exposure to Bitcoin without buying it or holding it directly. 

The company’s unique model, which combines its original software business with a large Bitcoin acquisition funded by debt and stock sales, led to its inclusion in major stock indices. This inclusion brought billions of dollars in passive investments from funds that track these indies. 

However, MSCI is now reviewing its rules. New proposed guidelines would label companies holding more than 50% of their assets in cryptocurrency as “digital asset treasuries,” similar to funds. This classification would make them ineligible for inclusion in MSCI’s main equity indices. 

This change in rules can damage the Strategy. Analysts at JPMorgan have warned that if the company is removed from MSCI indices, it could trigger immediate stock sell-offs, which could total around $3 billion. If other index providers like Nasdaq follow MSCI’s lead, the outflows could surpass $8.8 billion. This could break the trust of institutional investors in Bitcoin holding companies.

In his public response, Michael Saylor directly refuted claims that his company is merely a fund. He stated that Strategy is not a fund, a trust, or a holding company. He mentioned that it is a publicly traded company with a $500 million software business and a unique treasury strategy that uses Bitcoin as productive capital.

He mentioned that index classifications do not define Strategy.