Two companies can hold similar amounts of bitcoin while their shares command different prices relative to those assets. mNAV tries to express that relationship as a multiple. Start with a simple question: how much are we paying in the market for a unit of a particular value? Particular is the key word. mNAV is not a uniform accounting standard, and different dashboards may calculate different things. NAV (Net Asset Value) means net asset value, after deducting liabilities; the metric used by Strategy, a company holding bitcoin, is not automatically traditional NAV. First identify the provider, formula and date. The number alone demonstrates neither a bargain nor an investor’s return.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explains NAV for investment companies as assets minus liabilities. All monetary amounts in the examples below use the same currency. In our simple model, a company has assets of 120, liabilities of 20 and net value of 100. Its shares have a combined market value of 150. Investors pay a multiple of 1.5 of net value, representing a premium of 50 %, not 150 %. The premium is the amount above the base. This first illustration explains multiples versus percentages; it is not automatically the methodology of every bitcoin dashboard. The same label can use a different base. [1]
A long historical chart can look continuous even when its calculation changed. Alongside Strategy’s results dated 30 July 2026, read its methodology notes. These state an mNAV change effective 23 July: the current formula divides the price of its Class A common shares by Net Bitcoin Per Share in USD (US dollars) at the same time. That is the company-defined net bitcoin value per share, not just total bitcoin (BTC) divided by ordinary shares. Values before the change cannot be joined to new ones without recalculation. The name stayed, while its meaning changed. [2] [3]
A company can have creditors or preferred shareholders with claims ahead of common shareholders. In Net BTC, Strategy therefore adjusts bitcoin holdings for specified senior claims after accounting for USD Assets, its defined dollar asset category. A convertible note is a loan to the company that can be exchanged for its shares under agreed terms. Out-of-the-money means its conversion price is above the relevant share market price; in-the-money means at or below it. Under the methodology, Fully Diluted Shares includes, among other items, conversion of in-the-money notes and STRK, employee options (rights to buy shares at an agreed price) and share awards. STRK is a particular preferred share convertible into common shares under its terms. Assumed Diluted Shares for BTC Yield, the percentage change in gross bitcoin per share, instead assumes all applicable conversions. These counts are not interchangeable: do not deduct the same claim as debt and count its conversion into shares again. The notes specify details, including the STRK exception. [3]
Enterprise value, or EV, considers business financing alongside the market value of shares. Our simplified model has BTC worth 100, cash of 10, debt of 40 and equity market value of 150, with nothing else. Equity relative to net assets gives 150/70, approximately 2.14. Simplified EV is 150 + 40 − 10 = 180, and EV relative to gross BTC value is 1.8. The results differ because they compare different things, not because of rounding. Neither example automatically equals Strategy’s current mNAV. Before comparing dashboards, check both the top and bottom of the fraction. [1]
Division responds to both inputs. In our debt-free model, a company holds 10 BTC and its shares have a total market value of 1500. At a BTC price of 100, the multiple is 1.5. If bitcoin rises to 120 with everything else unchanged, the ratio falls to 1.25. The shares did not become cheaper; the reference asset value rose. Do not combine today’s price with an outdated share count or liability amounts. SEC filings help verify those figures and their dates. A meaningful comparison requires inputs from the same moment. [4]
Net value can shrink while the market price stays put. In our example, market value of 100 divided by net assets of 20 gives a multiple of 5. With net assets of 10 it becomes 10. At zero, division is undefined; with a negative denominator of −10 the arithmetic result is −10. A negative number does not establish a bargain below value. It signals the need to examine assets and claims. A conventional ranking from lowest to highest could create a seriously misleading impression here. [1]
Selling new shares can fund additional bitcoin, but price, costs and use of funds matter. A prospectus is the document explaining an offering to investors. Strategy’s ATM (At-the-Market Offering) program sells new shares into the market over time; MSTR is the trading symbol for its common shares. Our model starts with net assets of 100 and 100 shares. The company issues another 20 shares at 1.5, raises 30 and pays costs of 2. It uses the net 28 to buy BTC. At an unchanged bitcoin price and with no other changes, new value per share is 128/120, about 1.0667, an increase of 6.67 %. This is a result under stated assumptions, not a guaranteed stock-market return or an actual issuance. Asset value per share and the price at which you can sell the share are different questions. [5]
Strategy expressly distinguishes mNAV from traditional NAV. The methodology omits, for example, deferred tax, operating leases and legal contingencies. These are possible obligations or costs that may be material even though the chosen calculation does not capture them. A share also gives no automatic right to withdraw BTC. A value below 1 therefore guarantees neither arbitrage, a trade seeking to profit from a price difference, nor eventual closing of the discount or payment of cash. The metric helps pose better questions; it does not replace financial statements, security terms or assessment of the whole company. [3]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Strategy, Bitcoin Treasury Company, Corporate Bitcoin Treasury, Bitcoin Yield Metric. The reverse links also lead from Bitcoin Yield Metric, Bitcoin per Share, Reflexivity.