New York, Feb 16, 2026, 16:40 ET — The market has wrapped up for the day.
- Strategy said it can handle its debt load even if bitcoin slides all the way down to $8,000.
- Shares finished Friday up 8.9%, just before the U.S. Presidents Day holiday shuttered markets.
- Traders come back Tuesday to a shaky bitcoin, with U.S. data and Fed minutes expected later in the week.
Strategy Inc is reopening Tuesday with management signaling they’re not budging, even if bitcoin tumbles sharply. The stock finished Friday at $133.88—up 8.9%. U.S. markets took a break Monday for Presidents Day. (Nasdaq)
Timing is key here. Strategy stands out as one of Wall Street’s clearest proxies for bitcoin, so any hint of balance-sheet pressure—or a dose of reassurance—can jolt sentiment in a hurry.
Bitcoin slipped 0.4% to roughly $68,490 on Monday, trading non-stop even as U.S. equity markets took a breather. Investors are left guessing how crypto’s next move might ripple through stocks when trading resumes.
Strategy, posting on X this Sunday, claimed it could handle a $BTC price drop all the way to $8K and still have enough assets to pay off its debt. (X (formerly Twitter))
Michael Saylor, executive chairman at Strategy, pointed to a debt playbook, saying: “Our plan is to equitize our convertible debt over the next 3–6 years.” In market terms, that means swapping debt for equity—a move that cuts leverage but risks shareholder dilution if the notes flip into shares. (X (formerly Twitter))
The company’s bitcoin stash has been built up through both equity fundraising and debt—convertible notes among them. As of Feb. 1, Strategy owned 713,502 bitcoins, acquired at a total outlay of $54.26 billion, averaging $76,052 per coin, according to a Reuters report from earlier this month. (Reuters)
Friday saw action across crypto stocks, with Coinbase rallying 16.8%. Marathon Digital, a bitcoin miner, tacked on 9.1%. The group remains closely tied to swings in risk appetite and crypto prices.
Still, those weekend statements don’t address the main problem. Strategy’s balance sheet remains tied to bitcoin, a notoriously volatile asset. If bitcoin drops sharply, access to markets could be squeezed, funding costs might climb, and the specter of dilution could return—especially if the company turns to equity or debt swaps to handle upcoming maturities.
The schedule isn’t doing markets any favors. U.S. retail sales and the Empire State manufacturing survey hit on Tuesday; Federal Reserve minutes drop Wednesday. These are the sorts of data points that can swing bond yields sharply—and ripple through volatile crypto trades. (Scotiabank)
Strategy shareholders have their eyes on Tuesday’s opening bell. They’re bracing for any word from the company about its financing or bitcoin holdings, plus watching to see if macro data nudges the market toward risk—or sends it the other way.
