Strategy has spent $139 million buying back its STRC preferred shares instead of adding more Bitcoin to its huge cryptocurrency treasury. As of September 13, the company held 845,050 BTC along with $6.4 billion in US dollar assets. The latest buyback is part of Strategy’s $2 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program. The company believes buying its preferred shares below their $100 stated value can reduce future dividend obligations. The move highlights a shift in Strategy’s capital strategy, with the company focusing more on managing its preferred-stock liabilities while keeping its Bitcoin holdings unchanged.
Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said Strategy’s Bitcoin-related credit metric, known as “BTC credit”, stood at 57 basis points. The company also reported USD duration of 3.9 years, based on assumptions that Bitcoin would deliver a 10% annual return with 40% volatility and a Bitcoin price of $77,266.
The latest $139 million buyback comes after Strategy spent $176.3 million purchasing 1.81 million STRC shares in the week ended September 7. Earlier this month, the company doubled the size of its preferred-stock repurchase programme to $2 billion.
STRC, known as Stretch, is Strategy’s flagship preferred security. It is listed on Nasdaq and is designed to trade close to its $100 par value. Its current cash dividend is running at 12% annually and is paid twice a month. The dividend rate is adjusted every month.
https://x.com/saylor/status/2099468945690374597?s=20
Strategy has explained that buying STRC below $100 can be accretive for the company because it retires future dividend obligations at a discount. Unlike Strategy’s common MSTR shares, STRC ranks ahead of common stockholders and is positioned as a short-duration, high-yield “digital credit” instrument.
Strategy’s preferred securities are backed by the company’s overall enterprise, cash reserves and Bitcoin treasury. However, holders do not have a direct security interest in Strategy’s Bitcoin.
The company’s Bitcoin holdings remain unchanged at 845,050 BTC, making Strategy the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world. The holdings represent about 4% of Bitcoin’s 21 million maximum supply. Strategy acquired the coins at an average cost of roughly $75,400 per Bitcoin, putting the total cost at around $63.7 billion.
Strategy has not made another major Bitcoin purchase in recent weeks after briefly returning to accumulation in late August. Instead, it has been using cash for preferred-stock buybacks and building a large US dollar reserve to cover dividends and interest payments.
The change follows a capital framework announced in June. At that time, Strategy paused Bitcoin accumulation, increased the STRC dividend, authorized Bitcoin sales of up to $1.25 billion for defined purposes and created separate buyback programmes for its preferred and common shares.
Saylor has presented the strategy as a disciplined approach rather than a retreat from Bitcoin. The company continues to regard Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve, but is also paying greater attention to managing its liabilities.
For investors, the key question is whether buying back discounted STRC shares can strengthen Strategy’s capital structure more effectively than using the same cash to purchase additional Bitcoin.
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