Mike Alfred Says Wall Street Giants Are Targeting Michael Saylor-Led MSTR By Driving Bitcoin Lower: Critic Dismisses It As 'Conspiratorial Thinking'

Renowned investor and Bitcoin BTC/USD backer Mike Alfred accused Wall Street giants of manipulating the apex cryptocurrency’s price to pressure proxy companies like Strategy Inc. MSTR.

What Happened: In an X post on Monday, Alfred, a former tech CEO, stated that big companies on Wall Street were intentionally driving down Bitcoin prices to target the Michael Saylor-led company and others that have significant Bitcoin holdings.

“If they can bring BTC down far enough, it kills the easy capital markets regime these companies are accessing to add BTC,” Alfred stated.

MartyParty, a widely-followed cryptocurrency influencer, wrote “Wintermute” while responding to the post, suggesting a potential involvement of the leading cryptocurrency market maker. Interestingly, MartyParty also linked Wintermute with the “Black Monday” crash last month, although nothing has been proven yet.

I am seeing signs that large Wall Street players are trying to bring down Bitcoin to put pressure on MSTR and other levered proxies. It appears to be working. If they can bring BTC down far enough, it kills the easy capital markets regime these companies are accessing to add BTC.
— Mike Alfred (@mikealfred) March 4, 2025

Alfred’s allegations were dismissed by several X users, with Emil Sandstedt, author of the book "Money Dethroned,” noting that such “conspiratorial thinking” often emerges when asset values decline. He pointed out that it’s common in investment circles to blame “elusive market makers” for market downturns, especially among small- and micro-cap companies.

“In MSTR circles, blame are specifically put on elusive “market makers”. It’s always someone else’s fault,” Sandstedt said.

Every time an asset goes down, this type of conspiratorial thinking blossoms. Seen it a hundred times, especially in investing circles buying small- and micro cap companies. In MSTR circles, blame are specifically put on elusive "market makers". It's always someone else's fault. https://t.co/h6J3MqpQys
— Emil Sandstedt (@bezantdenier) March 4, 2025

Why It Matters: Alfred’s comments come at a time when the Bitcoin treasury company was undergoing a significant correction.

Shares of Strategy were down more than 18% in a month and more than 41% since its November highs, as its primary reserve asset, Bitcoin, slumped due to tariff war fears.

The company is the world’s largest Bitcoin hoarder, sitting on a stockpile of 499,096 BTC, worth over $43.84 billion, according to bitcointreasuries.net.

Bitcoin bull Saylor, who has steered the firm toward a Bitcoin-oriented approach, has grown increasingly close to the Donald Trump administration. He was set to attend an industry roundtable at the White House Crypto Summit later this week.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $87,800.51, up 4.89% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Strategy’s stock was up 1.54% in after-hours trading, after closing 9.96% higher at $275.15 during Tuesday’s trading session

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