Michael Saylor Post Revives Talk of Another Strategy Bitcoin Purchase
Strategy has now disclosed a 22,337 BTC purchase and signaled a funding shift, with STRC preferred issuance overtaking common stock sales as the main source of capital for bitcoin accumulation.
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has disclosed that it bought 22,337 BTC in the preceding week, its fifth-largest acquisition on record, increasing total holdings to 761,068 BTC. The new report adds that the purchase was funded primarily through issuance of Strategy’s STRC perpetual preferred stock, which raised $1.18 billion last week, compared with $396 million from the company’s common stock at-the-market program. This marks the first time preferred stock has been the main funding vehicle for Strategy’s bitcoin purchases. At STRC’s current 11.5% dividend rate, the latest issuance implies about $135 million in annual dividend obligations, pushing the company’s total annual dividend burden above $1 billion as outstanding preferred stock exceeds $10 billion. The report also says Strategy has set aside about $2.25 billion in U.S. dollar reserves to cover these obligations, while STRC has traded below its $100 par value for three consecutive days after its March 15 ex-dividend date, raising the possibility of a further 25 basis point dividend increase to support pricing.
- STRC perpetual preferred stock: A preferred equity instrument issued by Strategy that pays dividends and has been used to raise capital without issuing additional common shares.
- BTC: The ticker symbol for bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value and the asset Strategy is accumulating on its balance sheet.
- at-the-market (ATM) program: A capital-raising mechanism that lets a company sell shares into the open market over time at prevailing prices.