Arthur Hayes: The Strategy model might be losing its significance On August 22, 2026, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) mentioned in an interview that the slowing growth rate of Bitcoin's price has caused its second derivative to turn negative, leading to the collapse of the financial engineering model of Strategy. Founder Michael Saylor is now facing a tough choice between issuing more shares, selling BTC, or stopping dividend payments. Hayes emphasized that MSTR has lost its influence and no longer has a reason for premium valuation. For investors looking to gain BTC exposure in the stock market, directly purchasing ETFs (like IBIT) is the rational choice—do not buy MSTR, which relies on absolute control by a single individual. Once the premium disappears, its entire playbook will fail completely. Source: Unchained