Strategy bought another 250 Bitcoin last week, paying about $21.5 million at an average price of $86,194 per coin. It's the company's second straight week of smaller purchases, and it brings total holdings to 848,250 BTC — worth roughly $70.61 billion at current prices.
The headline number is fine on its own. The trend behind it isn't. Two weeks ago Strategy added 1,665 BTC. Last week, 334. This week, 250. That's an 84% drop in two weeks.
The slide from 55,500 to 250
Context matters here. In November 2024, Strategy bought 55,500 BTC in a single week. The current pace is a rounding error next to that. The company's average cost sits at $75,441 per coin, so it's still in profit at $83,283 — but the buying machine has clearly shifted gears.
What's replaced it is stock repurchases. Strategy spent $176.3 million buying back Stretch (STRC) preferred stock in the week to October 4. That's roughly six times what it spent on Bitcoin in the same period. A week earlier, STRC buybacks hit $151.7 million against $142.7 million of Bitcoin purchases. The ratio is flipping.
STRC is the story now
Peter Schiff, never one to pass up a Strategy critique, argued the company has lost buying power because STRC share sales that previously funded Bitcoin purchases have dried up. Whether you agree with Schiff's broader views or not, the numbers make his point hard to dismiss. The preferred stock that once served as a funding vehicle is now absorbing capital rather than generating it.
Strategy still held $4.9 billion in its USD reserve as of October 5, earmarked for dividends. As of October 11, the company reported $5.5 billion in USD assets. So there's cash. The question is what it's for.
Saylor's dots and a $18.8 billion option
Michael Saylor teased the purchase on Sunday with his usual chart of orange dots — the same ritual he's performed for years. The dots are getting smaller on that chart, even if the total stack keeps growing.
Strategy also still has about $18.8 billion of common stock authorized to sell as of its September 28 filing. That's a deep reservoir if it decides to accelerate again. For now, though, the company seems content to let the Bitcoin buys drift lower while it tends to its preferred shareholders.
Bitcoin traded near $83,283 at the time of reporting, up 0.19% in 24 hours. Strategy's holdings remain comfortably above its average cost.
The next filing will show whether the 250 BTC pace holds or whether Saylor opens the spigot again. The November 2024 comparison isn't going away, either — every week of small buys makes that 55,500 BTC week look more like a different era.
