Strategy bought 334 Bitcoin for $28.7 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, the smallest positive Bitcoin purchase it has made all year. The average price was $85,838.80. It's a notable slowdown for a company that has built an 848,000 BTC treasury.
The same week, Strategy spent $176.3 million repurchasing about 1.77 million STRC shares — more than six times what it put into Bitcoin. The company is clearly prioritizing its preferred stock over its flagship asset right now.
Why the shift toward STRC
STRC is supposed to trade around $100. It last closed at $100 in mid-May and has been below that mark for nearly 100 straight trading sessions. Strategy's stated objective is for STRC to trade between $99 and $100 over time. It hasn't been there in months.
Earlier this year, Strategy raised STRC's annual dividend rate to 12%, began systematic repurchases, and moved dividend payments from monthly to semi-monthly. Chaitanya Jain, Strategy's head of investor relations, said every $1,000 increase in BTC price during the third quarter represented an $848 million gain to Strategy's holdings. That's the kind of math that keeps preferred holders interested.
But the preferred repurchases are eating into available capital. Total spending under the repurchase authorization has reached roughly $1.45 billion, leaving $547.2 million available under a program that was doubled to $2 billion in September. The company sold 92,894 MSTR shares for $15.7 million and used $13 million in cash to fund the Bitcoin buy.
The Bitcoin buying slowdown
Strategy's previous yearly low for Bitcoin purchases was 520 BTC back in June. October's 334 BTC is smaller still. The company's aggregate Bitcoin acquisition cost is now around $63.97 billion, with an average cost of $75,440.70 per BTC. Bitcoin gained about 43% in the third quarter, lifting the carrying value of Strategy's holdings to $70.82 billion as of Sept. 30.
Under fair-value accounting, Strategy estimated a $20.91 billion digital-asset gain for the quarter. That's a paper gain, not realized profit, but it's a big number. The company's total holdings of 848,000 BTC make it the largest corporate holder by a wide margin.
The proxy vote on daily dividends
Strategy filed a definitive proxy asking MSTR shareholders to approve daily dividends across its four US-listed preferred securities. If approved, STRC dividends would start accruing daily on Nov. 1, with the first payment due Nov. 2. Shareholders of record as of Sept. 25 will vote on the amendment on Oct. 28. STRC holders won't get a vote.
The company says the June move to semi-monthly payments was meant to improve STRC's trading characteristics. Its argument: shortening the gap between earning and receiving dividends could reduce price fluctuations, improve liquidity, and attract more demand. Whether daily accrual does what semi-monthly hasn't is an open question. STRC has stubbornly traded below its $100 target for most of 2026.
Strategy has leaned harder on preferred securities as a way to raise capital without issuing only common stock or debt. That strategy now competes directly with Bitcoin purchases for cash. With $547.2 million left on the buyback and a shareholder vote three weeks away, the next few weeks will show which the company values more.
