Strategy buys just 334 Bitcoin as preferred-share buybacks reach $1.45 billion

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, completed its smallest positive Bitcoin acquisition of 2026. This occurred despite a 43% quarterly rally in the cryptocurrency that generated a massive $20.9 billion gain on the firm’s digital-asset reserves.

According to an Oct. 5 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Michael Saylor-led enterprise acquired 334 Bitcoin for $28.7 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 4. The purchase was made at an average price of $85,838.80 per coin, bringing total holdings to 848,000 BTC. This acquisition dropped below the previous yearly low of 520 BTC purchased in June.

This deceleration stands in stark contrast to the strength of Strategy’s pre-existing Bitcoin assets. Bitcoin climbed roughly 43% throughout the third quarter, driving the carrying value of the firm’s portfolio to $70.82 billion as of Sept. 30.

Under fair-value accounting, Strategy estimated a $20.91 billion digital-asset gain for the quarter. While this gain does not reflect realized trading profits, the market surge elevated its Bitcoin valuation above the approximate $63.97 billion aggregate acquisition cost.

Chaitanya Jain, Strategy’s head of investor relations, noted:

“Every $1,000 increase in BTC price [during the third quarter represented] a $848 million fair market value gain to Strategy.”

Even so, relatively minimal fresh capital was directed toward expanding that stash during the previous week.

To help fund this latest purchase, Strategy sold 92,894 MSTR shares for $15.7 million and contributed an additional $13 million from cash reserves. Overall, the company has acquired 848,000 BTC at an average cost of $75,440.70 each.

Concurrently, the organization continues directing substantially larger sums of capital toward STRC, its variable-rate perpetual preferred stock.

STRC support enters another phase

Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4, Strategy allocated $176.3 million to repurchase approximately 1.77 million STRC shares—an amount exceeding six times what it spent on Bitcoin during the same reporting window.

These buybacks elevated cumulative spending under the preferred-stock repurchase authorization to roughly $1.45 billion. This leaves $547.2 million remaining under a program that Strategy expanded to $2 billion in September.

Despite this financial intervention, STRC has not yet sustainably regained its $100 stated amount.

Official Strategy investor guidelines state that the goal for STRC is to trade between $99 and $100 over time. The preferred security last finished a session at $100 in mid-May and has stayed beneath that threshold for nearly 100 consecutive trading sessions, even following a robust rebound from summer lows.

The firm has already implemented multiple measures to bridge this gap.

Earlier this year, it lifted the annual dividend rate on STRC to 12%, initiated systematic buybacks, and transitioned dividend distributions from monthly to semi-monthly. Strategy explained that the June shift was designed to enhance the asset’s trading characteristics.

Now, the company is putting forward another structural redesign.

In a definitive proxy filed Monday, Strategy requested that MSTR shareholders authorize daily dividends across all four of its US-listed preferred securities. Under this framework, STRC dividends would accrue every calendar day—including weekends and holidays—and be paid out on the subsequent business day.

The annual dividend rate would not rise solely due to this amendment. Instead, Strategy contends that shortening the interval between earning and collecting dividends can diminish price swings, boost liquidity, and draw in higher demand.

Specifically for STRC, management states the proposal aims to assist trading at or near its $100 stated par value. The September investor presentation reiterated that the corporate target remains for STRC to trade within the $99 to $100 range over time.

Consequently, this initiative represents the newest milestone in an increasingly costly campaign to establish STRC as a reliable funding vehicle for Strategy’s broader Bitcoin ambitions.

Oct. 28 vote tests Strategy’s preferred-stock funding model

The implications stretch well beyond whether STRC can recover the remaining distance to $100.

Strategy has leaned increasingly on preferred securities as an alternative channel to raise capital without depending exclusively on common stock or debt issuance.

The company informed shareholders that enhancing liquidity and demand across these instruments could streamline future preferred-equity offerings, potentially widening the pool of available funds for future Bitcoin acquisitions.

This dynamic places the upcoming Oct. 28 vote squarely at the center of Strategy’s Bitcoin-financing architecture.

MSTR shareholders of record as of Sept. 25 will vote on whether STRC and Strategy’s three other US-listed preferred securities should transition to daily dividend accruals. Owners of STRC itself will not participate in the vote.

If authorization is granted, STRC will begin daily dividend accrual on Nov. 1, with the initial payment under the new framework scheduled for Nov. 2.

This vote follows an earlier recovery milestone that passed without STRC returning to par. Strategy had previously pointed to the roughly 70 trading sessions the security required to hit $100 following its initial debut, a comparison that highlighted early September during the recent rebound.

While STRC has since climbed much closer to that target, it lingered below $100 following nearly 100 consecutive trading sessions.

As a result, the vote presents Strategy with an immediate test of whether modifications to STRC’s market structure can lower the corporate capital required to defend the security.

An inability to establish STRC around $100 on a sustainable basis would leave leadership with tougher decisions: persist in deploying cash for buybacks, accept a chronic discount that could make upcoming preferred issuances less appealing, or tinker with the product’s economics once more.

Any of these choices will influence how efficiently Strategy can fund the next stage of its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation.

?Frequently Asked Questions

01What is Strategy’s primary crypto holding?

Strategy holds large amounts of Bitcoin (BTC), reaching 848,000 BTC in its digital-asset reserves as of early October.

02What is STRC?

STRC is a variable-rate perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy, designed to help fund its broader corporate strategy.

03Why is Strategy modifying its dividend schedule?

Strategy proposed daily dividend accruals for its US-listed preferred securities to reduce price volatility, enhance market liquidity, and help STRC trade closer to its $100 stated amount.

04Do STRC holders vote on the proposed dividend changes?

No, the vote is conducted by MSTR common shareholders of record, while individual STRC holders do not vote on the amendment.