Key Highlights
- S&P Global Ratings assigned Strategy a ‘B-’ issuer credit rating, which is the first time a major credit agency has rated a company primarily holding Bitcoin
- The rating shows the company’s strong capital market access and prudent debt management, offset by high Bitcoin concentration
- The ‘B-’ rating provides a benchmark for institutional risk assessment
In the recent development, S&P Global has for the first time rated a Bitcoin treasury company, none other than Michael Saylor’s Strategy, writing a new chapter in the cryptocurrency sector’s history.
S&P Global Ratings has assigned Strategy Inc a 'B-‘ Issuer Credit Rating (Outlook Stable) — the first-ever rating of a Bitcoin Treasury Company by a major credit rating agency. https://t.co/WLMkFqkkCb
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) October 27, 2025
According to the latest report, S&P Global Ratings has assigned a ‘B-’ issuer credit rating with a stable outlook to Strategy Inc., the rebranded Bitcoin treasury company formerly known as MicroStrategy.
Strategy Becomes First Company to Receive S&P Global Rating
This is the first time a major credit agency has rated a company whose balance sheet is dominated by digital assets, which shows a cautious but undeniable embrace of Bitcoin as collateral in traditional credit systems.
“We assigned our ‘B-‘ issuer credit rating to Strategy. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Strategy will continue to prudently manage maturities of its convertible debt. We also expect the company will continue to finance payments of its convertible debt and preferred stock dividends via issuances of debt, preferred equity, and equity while maintaining sufficient capital markets access,” stated in the official report.
Strategy, led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, holds over 640,808 Bitcoin valued at approximately $73.91 billion as of late October. It dwarfed its modest AI-powered enterprise analytics software business, which generated $114.5 million in Q2 revenue.
S&P’s assessment highlights the firm’s “high bitcoin concentration, narrow business focus, weak risk-adjusted capitalization, and low U.S. dollar liquidity” as main weaknesses.
These risks come from a currency mismatch as Bitcoin-denominated assets against dollar-based debts and dividends.
“We believe the company’s negative total adjusted capital is a significant ratings constraint based on our treatment of its bitcoin assets in our calculation of risk-adjusted capital (RAC),” stated in the post.
This negative rating also comes from Strategy’s negative operating cash flow $37 million in the first half of 2025, despite $8.1 billion in pre-tax earnings from unrealized BTC gains.
According to the report, Strategy’s “strong access to capital markets” and prudent debt management, with no maturities until after 2 months. The company finances operations primarily through equity issuances and convertible debt, recently adding 390 BTC for $43.4 million at an average price of $111,117 per coin.
This rating comes amid significant turbulence in the cryptocurrency sector following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a tariff war against China. This declaration hit Bitcoin and other altcoins. Bitcoin quickly fell below $105,000. At present, however, the cryptocurrency has recovered significantly, trading at around $115,044.73 with a 1.21% jump. The fear and greed index is also showing neutral.
Bitcoin surged over $125,000 recently, which came after a wave of corporate treasuries mimicking Strategy’s model. Currently, it numbers over 60, including Metaplanet in Japan and Semler Scientific.
However, there is still volatility persisting in the cryptocurrency market. Moody’s recent U.S. credit downgrade triggered a crypto stock sell-off, with firms like Coinbase and Riot Platforms dipping 5-10%.
Strategy’s S&P 500 Rejection Highlights Hurdles for Bitcoin Firms
In September, Michael Saylor’s bitcoin holding company was denied inclusion by the S&P 500 index committee, even after achieving all technical criteria. According to JPMorgan analysts, this discretionary snub is a big warning for firms “effectively functioning as Bitcoin funds.”
After this setback, the company’s stock dropped 3%. On the flip side, its peers like Robinhood surged 7% after its inclusion in the S&P 500.
The October launch of the Digital Markets 50 index merges 15 cryptos with 35 equities, capping weights at 5% for diversification.
Similarly, NASDAQ is aggressively courting crypto listings, approving DeFi Technologies (DEFT) and Antalpha (ANTA) in May for U.S. capital access.
