Headline: Strategy CEO links next Bitcoin buys to STRC rebounding to $100 — signals pause until preferred stock returns to par
Strategy CEO Phong Le says the company will resume issuing STRC — its preferred “Stretch” stock — and funnel proceeds into more Bitcoin only after STRC returns to its $100 par value, Bloomberg reported. “We’ll continue to build that. And yeah, when Stretch gets back to par, we’ll issue more. We’ll buy more Bitcoin,” Le said, though he did not offer a timeline for the recovery.
Why STRC matters
- STRC is a key fundraising tool for Strategy: the company can sell new preferred shares and use the cash to buy more BTC.
- The preferred pays a variable dividend intended to keep its market price close to $100. But STRC has traded below par since April and was near $87 on July 16, per Strategy’s website.
- Issuing STRC below par reduces the capital efficiency of the program, lowering Bitcoin exposure per share and making fresh issuance less attractive.
Cash buffers and recent liquidity moves
- Le told Bloomberg that rebuilding cash reserves was crucial after STRC dipped under $75 in late June, and that shareholders had pushed Strategy to hold more cash.
- Strategy has boosted its dollar reserves to $3 billion after selling roughly $466 million of MSTR shares, according to crypto.news. That liquidity helps cover dividends, interest and other obligations without leaning entirely on BTC holdings.
Bitcoin sales and holdings
- To shore up cash, Strategy sold portions of its Bitcoin in two recent reporting periods: 1,363 BTC for about $81 million in the week ending June 30, and 2,225 BTC for roughly $135 million in the week ending July 6.
- After those sales, Strategy reported total holdings of 843,775 BTC.
Position versus BlackRock
- Despite the liquidation, Strategy still lists a larger Bitcoin hoard than BlackRock’s spot ETF: Strategy at 843,775 BTC vs. BlackRock’s IBIT at 733,516 BTC in the referenced report.
- Executive chairman Michael Saylor has framed Strategy’s securities against IBIT: he tweeted that MSTR provides 1.0x BTC exposure, STRC 3.6x, and STRF 11x (per his post on X).
Market reaction and technical picture for MSTR
- MSTR stock fell 3.65% on July 16 to $93.91, even as Bitcoin traded near $64,800. The share price climbed out of a descending channel formed after a May peak near $195 but has stalled around the $100–$105 zone.
- Key technical levels to watch: immediate support at $90, a secondary floor around $83–$85 from late June. A daily close below $90 would put the recent channel breakout at risk; clearing $100–$105 could open a run toward $115–$120.
- Momentum is mixed: the daily RSI sits at 39.16 (weak demand but not oversold). The MACD has produced an early recovery signal — its line above the signal line and a positive histogram (2.17) — though both MACD lines remain below zero, implying the longer-term downtrend is not yet overturned.
Bottom line
Strategy is effectively pausing its preferred-share-driven Bitcoin accumulation until investor confidence in STRC is restored and the security trades back at par. The company’s larger cash cushion and recent BTC sales reflect a deliberate pivot to liquidity management — a move intended to stabilize dividends and reassure preferred shareholders even as Strategy keeps a lead over competitors in raw BTC holdings.
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