Strategy Just Broke Its 13-Week Bitcoin Buying Streak. Saylor Pitched Preferred Stock Instead.

TL;DR - Strategy didn't buy Bitcoin this week, breaking a 13-week streak of consecutive purchases totaling 90,831 BTC. Instead, Saylor promoted STRC - the company's perpetual preferred stock at 11.5% yield. With 762,099 BTC at an average cost of $75,694 and Bitcoin trading at $66,600, the company is ~12% underwater on a $57.6 billion position. The most reliable bid in Bitcoin just went quiet.

The Orange Dot Didn't Drop

Every Sunday for thirteen straight weeks, Saylor posted Strategy's Bitcoin tracker chart to X - the "Orange Dot" - signaling another purchase. It became ritual. A metronome. The market set its watch by it.

This Sunday: nothing. No chart. No purchase announcement. Instead, Saylor posted about STRC, Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred stock currently yielding 11.5% annualized. The message was clear: we're selling equity, not buying Bitcoin. At least this week.

A missing Sunday post doesn't guarantee a buying pause - Strategy could still file a Monday 8-K. But the break in pattern is the signal.

The 13-Week Run

Since late December, Strategy added 90,831 BTC across thirteen consecutive weekly purchases. Roughly $6.1 billion in Bitcoin bought in three months. The pace was the fastest since April 2025.

The fuel: a $42 billion at-the-market offering split between common stock (MSTR) and perpetual preferred shares (STRC). Strategy has been issuing equity, converting it to Bitcoin, and repeating. A financial perpetual motion machine - as long as the stock holds up.

12% Underwater

Strategy's average cost basis is $75,694. Bitcoin is at $66,600. That's a $9,094 per-coin gap on 762,099 coins - roughly $6.9 billion in unrealized losses.

The company has no margin calls and its debt maturities are structured across years. But the stock is under pressure, and that pressure makes it harder to issue new shares at favorable prices. When your equity is the funding mechanism and your Bitcoin is underwater, the flywheel slows.

MSTR is trading roughly 76% below its all-time high.

The STRC Pivot

STRC - Stretch - is Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred stock. It trades around $100 par. The dividend adjusts monthly to keep it pinned near par, currently at 11.5% annualized paid monthly in cash.

Why pivot to promoting STRC? Because it's the side of the capital structure that still works in a downturn. When MSTR common is depressed and issuing more shares means heavy dilution, preferred stock becomes the cleaner funding source. Investors get 11.5% yield. Strategy gets capital without diluting common shareholders as aggressively.

Saylor isn't abandoning the Bitcoin thesis. He's managing the capital stack.

76% of All Corporate Bitcoin

Strategy now holds roughly 76% of all Bitcoin owned by treasury companies. What was pitched as broadening institutional ownership has become one company's position.

If Strategy ever has to sell - forced liquidation, debt restructuring, regulatory pressure - it would be a supply event unlike anything the market has seen. 762,099 BTC hitting bids would dwarf any exchange hack or government auction.

The company says it hasn't sold a single satoshi. The goal is still 1 million BTC by end of 2026. But the pause in the metronome - even for one week - is worth watching closely.

NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. This article discusses a specific company's treasury strategy, equity issuances, and Bitcoin position. Nothing in this piece constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell MSTR, STRC, or Bitcoin. Do your own research.

Sean Ristau | @SeanRistau | 21Rates / The Daily Stack

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