Wall Street traders placed huge bets that Michael Saylor’s company would collapse. By the end of February 2026, more than 30 million shares of MSTR will be sold short.
Currently, the Strategy has a significant amount of short interest, with approximately 11% to 14% of its outstanding shares being sold short. The “days to coverage” ratio is about 2.2. Therefore, it takes more than 2 full days of normal trading volume for all short sellers to close out their positions. If a sudden rally occurs, there is not enough liquidity for everyone to go lower. This is a classic recipe for Short Squeeze.
While a large part of the market cares about the price going down, the Strategy is more than just a simple tech stock; it is a usable Bitcoin proxy.
Yesterday, February 25, 2026, Bitcoin increased from $64,000 to $69,000 in a matter of hours. Because Strategy has such a large amount of Bitcoin on its balance sheet, its share price moves in step with BTC, but often with much higher volatility.
Shares of MSTR Strategy rose 9% as BTC USD recovered a few thousand.
If the price of MSTR rises unexpectedly, perhaps due to Bitcoin rising in value, these short sellers will immediately lose money. To stop the bleeding, they will have to buy back the stock at the current market price. This compulsive buying drives the price even higher, which forces the short sellers to buy, creating a vicious cycle.
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Short sellers have piled in because they believe Bitcoin is going down or MSTR is trading at a very high level
Short selling is when a trader borrows a stock and sells it immediately, hoping to buy it back at a lower price later to pocket the difference. Basically, they are betting on the crash.
While this mountain of negative bets looks scary on paper, it can actually fuel a massive price explosion.
Historically, the market has a bad habit of flipping to the other side when a crowd of traders leans too heavily on one side of the boat. For anyone who owns MSTR or is just watching from the sidelines, it’s an interesting paradox that’s happening right now.
Currently, short sellers are piling up because they believe two things: either Bitcoin is going down, or MSTR is trading at a very high premium compared to the Bitcoin it actually owns. They believe the company’s bitcoin holdings are undervalued relative to the stock price. However, this aggressive position exposes them.
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The Role of Bitcoin: Important Price Levels to Watch
Despite Bitcoin’s recent volatility, Sailor doubles BTC. He recently made his 100th purchase of 592 BTC.
The strategy yielded 592 BTC worth ~$39.8 million at $67,286 per bitcoin. As of 2/22/2026, we have 717,722 people $BTC for ~$54.56 billion at $76,020 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/jSQroB4LnE
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) February 23, 2026
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For MicroStrategy, the ignition switch is almost always Bitcoin price action. Stocks rarely move independently of the crypto market. If Bitcoin is in a downtrend, short sellers are sitting on a comfortable profit. But if Bitcoin recovers key levels, the panic will begin.
Investors are monitoring the $68,000 to $70,000 zone for Bitcoin. This is a “line in the sand”. If BTC breaks sharply above this resistance, MSTR stock is likely to decline sharply, prompting margin calls for short sellers.
Conversely, if Bitcoin breaks below the $59,000 support, the short thesis is confirmed and the possibility of compression fades.
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Main roads
- The strategy has sold more than 30 million shares short. This creates a high pressure for a possible short circuit.
- MSTR is a Bitcoin proxy. A sudden BTC price rise above $68,000 could force shorts to aggressively push the stock higher.
The post Strategy Post (MSTR) shares are up 8% despite becoming the most short of $25 billion The post appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
