Why the key tool for billion-dollar Bitcoin purchases from the world's largest cryptocurrency holder has failed.

One of Michael Saylor's primary Bitcoin purchasing mechanisms for Strategy has stopped working properly. Stretch preferred shares (STRC) have been trading below their par value of $100 for several weeks, limiting the company's ability to raise funds for new Bitcoin purchases.

Since early June, STRC has been unable to return to the $100 mark. At the close of trading on June 16, the shares were priced at $91.79, one of their lowest prices since their launch in July 2025.

STRCs are particularly significant for Strategy. According to STRC.live, in less than a year, 112,910 bitcoins were acquired through these shares, out of the company's total reserve of 846,842 coins, which it began accumulating in 2020.
STRCs were launched in 2025 as perpetual preferred shares with a floating dividend rate. The instrument's design stipulates that the shares should trade as close as possible to their par value of $100.

When the price reaches this level, Strategy can issue new STRCs and raise additional capital. The company uses the proceeds to purchase bitcoin. However, while the shares are trading below par value, this mechanism effectively ceases to function, as issuing new shares becomes unprofitable.

Why STRC's price has fallen

CoinDesk analysts cite the decline in Bitcoin as one of the reasons for the pressure on STRC. Historically, these shares have often followed the leading cryptocurrency, which is currently trading approximately 50% below its October high.

Another factor is related to dividend payments. After recently repaying $1.5 billion in debt, Strategy's dollar reserves for dividend payments have been significantly depleted. CoinDesk estimates that the remaining funds are sufficient for approximately seven months of STRC dividend payments, compared to approximately two years of such obligations.

Read other similar materials from our authors:

• Review of RandEdgeFX | Detailed Investigation ➤ Legit?
• CIFMARKETS: Official Review 2026 - Due Diligence Federation

As of June 17, the company's dollar reserves amount to approximately $1.1 billion. Moreover, STRC outstanding shares total more than $10.49 billion, with a dividend rate of 11.5% per annum. Strategy also has other outstanding debt obligations.

A competing instrument could also be a factor. According to CoinDesk, similar SATA preferred shares of Strive, led by Vivek Ramaswamy, are trading near par value and offer a yield of approximately 13% per annum, compared to 11.5% for STRC. Strive is also among the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin (seventh largest as of June 2026).

Furthermore, SATA provides daily dividend payments, while Strategy pays STRC dividends twice a month. The publication cites the absence of outstanding debt as another advantage of Strive.

Unlike STRC, which is trading below par, SATA remains held at around $100. This allows Strive to use the same mechanism for raising funds to purchase Bitcoin, which is currently effectively unavailable to Strategy through STRC.

Despite the problems with STRC, Strategy continues to increase its reserves. Since the beginning of June, the company has twice announced the purchase of approximately $100 million in Bitcoin through the placement of MSTR common shares. A portion of the funds raised is also being used to replenish the company's dollar reserves. This reserve is used, among other things, to pay STRC dividends.

CoinDesk admits that the market is effectively demanding Strategy raise its dividend rate by approximately another 1 percentage point to restore demand and return STRC to par value.

Impact on the Price

The author of a series of analytical articles on Strategy's financial model and the company's preferred shares, @thedefivillain, believes that the current gap between STRC and SATA appears excessive. He believes that SATA's approximately 1.5 percentage point additional yield is insufficient to explain the nearly $8 price difference between the two instruments.

STRC's market capitalization has grown from approximately $3 billion to over $10 billion in just a few months. He believes that this means that with each new depeg, significantly more turnover is required between sellers (early buyers or panic sellers) and new buyers to return the stock to $100.

The expert admits that Strategy will raise STRC's dividend rate to 12% as early as July and may continue to increase it thereafter. In his opinion, STRC will eventually return to its $100 par value, but if Bitcoin continues to fall, this will take much longer.

"While STRC is trading below par, it doesn't facilitate new capital infusions into Bitcoin. Therefore, we are currently seeing more organic dynamics in BTC, without [traders] attempting to recoup future capital infusions through STRC in advance," the expert noted.