Martin Shkreli Predicts MicroStrategy Liquidation, Bitcoin Surge to $250K

Controversial figure Martin Shkreli issued a stark warning for Bitcoin (BTC) proxy stock, MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), on Monday, predicting its potential liquidation and a significant Bitcoin surge.

Controversial figure Martin Shkreli issued a stark warning for Bitcoin proxy stock MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) on Monday, predicting its potential liquidation and a significant Bitcoin surge.

What Happened: Shkreli, popularly known as “Pharma Bro,” took to Twitter to vent his thoughts on MicroStrategy’s ongoing downturn, which has resulted in the stock plummeting more than 15% in a week. The decline coincided with Bitcoin’s corrective action, which caused the leading cryptocurrency to slip below $93,000.

“Uh $MSTR < $300. We will liquidate you and take BTC to $250,000 without Saylor—poetic justice?” Shkreli made a cheeky jibe at the company’s co-founder and chair, Michael Saylor.

Shkreli sarcastically advised Saylor to sell some of the firm’s Bitcoin holdings to protect against risks. “Best thing Saylor can do is shor (pun intended) up his balance sheet.”

Shkreli has been a vocal critic of MicroStrategy’s widely popular Bitcoin playbook and revealed that he took short positions in the stock. He called the play a “big bubble” and predicted it to end poorly.

See Also: Donald Trump’s $9.9 Million Crypto Portfolio: Over 50% Growth Since September – How Many Cryptocurrencies Does Trump Own?

Why It Matters: Shkreli’s comments come amid MicroStrategy’s aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy. The company has been on an 8-week buying streak, with the latest purchase on Monday taking its total holdings to 446,400 BTC, worth over $41 billion at prevailing prices.

However, the strategy, which leverages convertible debt to fund Bitcoin purchases, has drawn criticism from financial experts. Peter Schiff said last month that the company's commitment to repay convertible note holders could be at a potential risk if Bitcoin drops significantly in value.

But nothing thus far has deterred Saylor’s bullish optimism.

The firm recently announced a special shareholder meeting to vote on proposals supporting its ambitious $42 billion Bitcoin purchase plan. As part of this plan, Saylor proposed increasing the company’s authorized Class A shares and the number of authorized shares of preferred stock.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $92,338.85, down 1.23% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Shares of MicroStrategy plunged 8.19% to $302.96 during Monday's regular session and dropped lower to $293.59 in after-hours trading.

The stock’s consensus price target was $449.5 based on 12 analyst recommendations, with an average price target of $546.67 from Bernstein, TD Cowen, and Barclays.