Strive (ASST) Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton laid out the bull case for what he called “Digital Credit,” arguing that a single shift in how rating agencies value Bitcoin ($BTC) could catapult Strategy (MSTR) from junk status to investment grade.
In his remarks, Walton targeted the gap between how credit agencies score Bitcoin treasury companies and the capital they could unlock.
Bitcoin Valued at Zero on the Balance Sheet
The dominant US credit rating framework, led by S&P Global, assigns $BTC a value of exactly zero on corporate balance sheets. Every dollar of dividend and debt-service capacity must be justified as if the holdings do not exist.
S&P gave MicroStrategy a B- issuer credit rating in October 2025, reaffirmed in December with a stable outlook.
The agency cited high Bitcoin concentration, narrow business focus, and low dollar liquidity. Strategy holds over 761,000 $BTC worth roughly $53 billion as of this writing.
MicroStrategy $BTC Holdings. Source: Strategy
Walton argued that if agencies begin underwriting $BTC at any value above zero, MicroStrategys rating should elevate to investment grade (IG) territory.
Bullish case for Digital Credit:
The DOMINANT US rating framework values Bitcoin as worth ZERO on the balance sheet
Every dollar of dividend capacity has to pencil out as if the Bitcoin doesnt exist
He called this the single biggest threshold separating Bitcoin treasury companies from large-scale institutional capital.
The 5-to-1 Capital Divide
The US investment-grade bond market outweighs the high-yield market by roughly 5 to 1. Crossing into IG territory would give Strategy access to:
- Pension funds
- Insurance companies
- IG bond mutual funds
- Index funds, and
- Bank collateral programs
Walton pointed to recent 2026 bond issuances for scale. Google raised $32 billion, Amazon $37 billion, Oracle $25 billion, and Honeywell $16 billion, all at low IG rates.
An investment-grade Strategy could tap similar markets to accelerate $BTC purchases at far cheaper borrowing costs.
Walton added that large portions of BBB-rated traditional corporate debt rely on cash flows that have not yet been stress-tested for AI disruption, margin compression, or rising fiscal drag.
AND
Large swaths of BBB‑ (Investment Grade) rated corporate and financial debt relies on human capital cash flows that HAVE NOT yet been re‑underwritten for AI‑driven disruption, margin compression, or rising fiscal drag.
Strive Has Skin in the Game
Walton is not making this argument from the sidelines. Strive allocated $50 million to Strategys STRC preferred stock on March 11, representing over one-third of its corporate treasury. STRC yields approximately 11.5%.
We have acquired $50 Million in $STRC
We view $STRC as a high quality credit, offering material yield, higher liquidity, and attractive risk profile over traditional credit instruments for moderate duration capital.
This allocation can deliver +$3.9 Million per year vs T-Bills pic.twitter.com/puTfjh7hF7
Strive itself holds roughly 13,628 $BTC and manages over $2.5 billion in assets through its subsidiary, Strive Asset Management. The cross-holding structure gives both companies direct financial exposure to the thesis Walton is publicly advancing.
Top 100 Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies. Source: Bitcoin Treasuries
Whether rating agencies move toward recognizing $BTC on balance sheets remains an open question.
However, the gap between Strategys current B- rating and the capital firepower an IG designation would unlock frames the stakes clearly for investors watching this space.
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