Strategy Just Chipped Away at Its Debt, But the Junk Rating Clock Is Still Ticking
Sep 11, 2026
Michael Saylor's Strategy has cut its net debt by nearly $8 billion in under a year, but S&P's junk rating still looms over the biggest corporate Bitcoin holder.
Paying Down the Bitcoin Bet
Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy and still the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin on the planet, has been quietly cleaning up its balance sheet. Over the past 11 months, the firm erased nearly $8 billion in net debt, a sizable move for a company whose entire identity is built around leveraging its way into more BTC.
The timing isn't random. S&P slapped Strategy with a B- junk rating, citing its heavy Bitcoin exposure and cash burn. Cutting debt is the clearest way to make the case for an upgrade.
Why It Matters
Strategy's fate is tightly linked to Bitcoin's price, so any move that reduces financial risk without forcing the company to sell its BTC stack is worth watching. A ratings upgrade could open the door to cheaper financing down the line, and that matters for how aggressively the company keeps buying.