A dividend-backed stablecoin that leans on preferred shares of bitcoin-treasury companies has lost its dollar peg. apxUSD tumbled to about 92 cents Friday, breaking the $1 mark as Strategy's STRC preferred stock dropped below par and bitcoin extended a steep selloff.
How the peg broke
The depeg happened as the underlying collateral — preferred shares of firms that hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, most notably Strategy — weakened. STRC, the convertible preferred stock issued by Strategy, slid below its par value, eroding the value backing apxUSD. Combined with a broader bitcoin selloff that has rattled crypto markets this week, the stablecoin couldn't hold its $1 target.
What apxUSD is backed by
ApxUSD is structured as a dividend-bearing stablecoin. Its collateral pool is heavily weighted toward preferred shares of bitcoin-treasury companies — corporations that have borrowed or issued equity to buy bitcoin. That makes it different from traditional fiat-collateralized stablecoins like USDC or USDT. When those preferred shares trade below par, the stablecoin's buffer shrinks.
What happens to holders
At 92 cents, anyone holding apxUSD is sitting on an 8% loss if they can't exit at par. The exchange where apxUSD is traded (the affected platform) has not announced a pause or recovery plan as of Friday afternoon. The timing isn't great: crypto markets are already under pressure from the weeklong bitcoin slide, and a stablecoin losing its peg usually adds to anxiety.
ApxUSD's issuer will need to either add more collateral or buy back tokens to restore the peg. The preferred shares that back it — particularly STRC — haven't recovered yet. Until they do, the stablecoin is likely to trade below $1. No formal statement from the issuer has been released as of this writing.
