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Saylor says STRC gained 9% while Bitcoin fell 47% over the past year

Saylor says STRC gained 9% while Bitcoin fell 47% over the past year

Strategy's latest performance comparison shows its preferred securities outperformed Bitcoin over a year, but the structure relies on ongoing payouts, share buybacks and a treasury that has recently turned into a net seller.

BTC

Fact Check
The primary source — Michael Saylor's own X post (@saylor, 2026-08-16) — states verbatim that BTC fell 47% over the past year and Digital Credit instruments ranged from -27% to +9% with STRC up 9%. This exactly matches the claim. Secondary outlets (CryptoBriefing, ChainCatcher) corroborate and cite the same post.
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Summary

Michael Saylor published a one-year performance chart showing Strategy's preferred securities outperformed Bitcoin from August 14, 2025, through August 14, 2026, with STRC gaining 9% while Bitcoin fell 47%. The comparison covered four Strategy credit instruments backed by income features rather than direct claims on the company's Bitcoin holdings. STRD fell 8%, STRF lost 9% and STRK dropped 27%, yet all four still beat Bitcoin over the period, helped in part by cash dividends and distributions. STRC, formally the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, currently pays 12% annually in twice-monthly cash dividends. Strategy adjusts that rate to keep the security near its $100 par value, but STRC slipped below par this summer, prompting the company to sell 1,690 Bitcoin in August to fund STRC share buybacks. Saylor has also published floor prices for creditors tied to Bitcoin levels where each security would break, as the company seeks to demonstrate the durability of the structure. The chart omitted Strategy's common stock, a notable gap because MSTR closed at $93.04 on August 14, about 75% below its level a year earlier, according to Yahoo Finance data, after touching a 52-week high of $367.57. STRK tracked that pressure more closely because each share converts into 0.1 shares of MSTR. Critics, including Arca Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman, have questioned whether Strategy can sustain the burden of a $15 billion preferred stack as Bitcoin remains in a bear market and the company has recently flipped into a net seller.

Terms & Concepts
  • preferred securities: A class of shares that typically pays set dividends and ranks ahead of common stock in claims on company assets and income.
  • par value: The reference face value of a security, used here as the target price Strategy aims to keep STRC near.
  • converts into 0.1 shares of MSTR: A conversion feature that lets a security be exchanged for common stock under preset terms, making its price more sensitive to moves in MSTR.