MicroStrategy claims it can survive Bitcoin crash to $8,000

Pooja Rajkumari

Tue, February 17, 2026 at 4:38 AM GMT+9 2 min read

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MSTR

+8.85%

BTC-USD

-0.52%

There seems to be no stop for MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) shopping.

Every week, there is at least one purchase. In fact, at press time, MicroStrategy, now better known as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), has 714,644 Bitcoin in its coffers.

That is 3.4% of the total 21 million Bitcoin supply.

But with great Bitcoin exposure comes great risks.

Related: Analyst slashes MicroStrategy price target ahead of Q4 earnings

During its fourth quarter earnings call, the company addressed the ongoing cryptocurrency market downtrends. At that time, Bitcoin prices had crashed to new lows. Crypto-heavy companies like Strategy could see the valuation of their assets drop below their purchase rates.

CEO Phong Le assured that while the current market situation was not a threat to the company, the real risk was a potential scenario in which Bitcoin falls to $8,000.

Just 11 days after that comment was made, Strategy assures there is no risk at all.

MicroStrategy’s balance sheet problem

Last year was all about Strategy’s balance sheet.

In 2026, MSCI proposed to exclude companies with more than 50% of their balance sheet filled with digital assets from its indices. One of the first companies that faced the risk of exclusion was Strategy.

In January 2026, Strategy finally breathed a sigh of relief after MSCI decided to temporarily skip deciding on the matter.

However, concerns about Strategy’s ability to handle extreme market crashes have not died down.

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MicroStrategy boasts self-sufficiency

In a post on X on Feb 15, Strategy defended its balance sheet.

“Strategy can withstand a drawdown in $BTC price to $8K and still have sufficient assets to fully cover our debt.”

The post also showed a graphical representation of their Bitcoin reserves. At current levels, with Bitcoin priced around $69,000, Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves are valued at approximately $49.3 billion, while its net debt stands at about $6.0 billion.

This means the company’s Bitcoin holdings are worth more than eight times its net debt.

There was also a graph for an extreme downside scenario when Bitcoin’s price drops by 88% from $69,000 to $8,000. In that situation, the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves would fall to roughly $6.0 billion.This would effectively match its $6.0 billion in net debt.

This would result in a 1.0x coverage ratio, meaning that even after such a dramatic crash, the company’s Bitcoin holdings would theoretically still be enough to repay all outstanding debt.

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Beyond the raw numbers, Strategy also emphasized the structure of its debt. Its convertible notes have staggered maturities and put dates between 2027 and 2032, which reduces short-term refinancing pressure. This means the company does not face immediate repayment demands or forced liquidation risk in the near term.

Moreover, Strategy states it plans to gradually convert existing convertible debt into equity rather than issue additional senior debt.

Related: Michael Saylor ‘reveals’ 21 truths of Bitcoin

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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