Benchmark is bullish on the strategy even as stock prices plummet due to the possibility of selling Bitcoin

Investment bank Benchmark rejected the recent skepticism Bitcoin treasury Strategysaying in a note on Monday that the company’s shares remain an attractive avenue for cryptocurrency exposure.

The “loudest” critics are “Apparently unfamiliar” with how Strategy works, equity research analyst Mark Palmer wrote in the note he shared Declutter. He dismissed concerns that Strategy could be in trouble, saying BTC would have to fall below $12,700 and stay there for the company to suffer.

“Simply put, the company would not be able to fully cover its outstanding convertible debt of approximately $8.2 billion if the price of Bitcoin fell below $12,700 and stayed there,” Palmer wrote.That would require a decline of ~86% from current levels. While there have been multiple drops of more than 80% in Bitcoin’s 17-year history, we believe that multiple macro shocks would have to occur simultaneously for such a turnaround to occur at this point.”

Benchmark continued to give the company a buy rating and a $705 price target, based on the assumption that Bitcoin will reach $225,000 by the end of 2026.

“We believe Strategy stock remains one of the most powerful asymmetric instruments in global markets because its balance sheet architecture, capital raising engine and Bitcoin-linked reflexivity give it upside that no other stock can match,” Palmer wrote.

Nasdaq-listed strategy – formerly MicroStrategy –started buying Bitcoin in 2020 as a way to protect shareholder returns. It’s been that way ever since spent $48.3 billion in cryptocurrency, largely using leverage, and now owns 650,000 BTC worth $55.2 billion at current prices, making it the largest corporate holder of the digital currency.

Investors can gain exposure to Bitcoin through equity and dividend-paying instruments that Strategy has issued.

But the stock is down this year after surging in 2024. MSTR closed Monday trading at $171.24 and is down 43% this year as Bitcoin’s price has erased its previous gains from 2025.

Bitcoin was recently It changed hands for just over $85,779, down more than 30% from October’s record high of $126,080, according to crypto markets data provider CoinGecko.

Year-to-date, BTC is down around 9% despite US President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly policies.

Still, 54% of respondents in a Myriad prediction market expect BTC to rise to $100,000 in its next big move, while the rest predict a drop to $69,000. (Myriad is part of Dastan, the parent company of an editorially independent company Declutter.)

Strategy on Monday announced it had set up a reserve of $1.44 billion as a means to provide “very smooth, continuous dividends” when Bitcoin is in trouble. It also did not rule out that the cryptocurrency was sold.