Strategy's STRC preferred stock has become the largest holding in three major U.S. preferred stock ETFs, with the three funds collectively owning $756 million of the security. According to MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor, STRC now leads the portfolios of BlackRock's iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF), Virtus InfraCap's U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFFA), and VanEck's Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF (PFXF). In a July 24 X post, Saylor described these placements as evidence that Strategy's digital credit products are entering institutional portfolios. The three funds provide investors indirect exposure to STRC alongside preferred securities issued by established U.S. companies, with STRC's closing price on July 24 at $86.89, gaining 2.29% during the session before rising to $87.14 in after-hours trading. Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3, expects SATA's recovery toward $100 could help STRC return to its $100 par value, as the two securities move together because investors are assessing whether Bitcoin-linked preferred shares can continue funding their dividends.
Strategy has overhauled its MSTR metrics to provide a clearer picture of shareholder Bitcoin exposure, revealing that much of its massive Bitcoin holdings are already committed to lenders and preferred investors. The company now reports a net reserve of approximately $36.6 billion in Bitcoin for common shareholders after deducting $22.3 billion owed to lenders and preferred investors. This represents a significant shift from previous reporting methods that failed to account for these priority claims. The new metrics show how Bitcoin bought with borrowed money may never reach common shareholders, with the company admitting that its older numbers hid this critical information. As per MicroStrategy founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor, "Bitcoin Capital Markets require a new financial language."
Strategy CEO Phong Le reported that institutional holdings have risen 105% to $3.5 million between March and July, while retail ownership fell from 78% to 71%. "The institutions are coming," Le wrote, correcting earlier reports that described the increase as only 10%. His figures indicate that the average institutional position more than doubled during the four-month period. However, STRC continues trading 13.11% below its $100 par value, with the stock's 52-week range spanning $71.25 to $100.42. The preferred stock's high 12% annual dividend in cash through two monthly payments has not yet closed the discount, as management adjusts the dividend rate monthly to encourage trading around par value and reduce price volatility. Samson Mow views the discount as temporary, noting that "every action that Strategy has undertaken to strengthen their balance sheet and encourage STRC to go back to par is also working."
Strategy has now gone four consecutive weeks without increasing its Bitcoin position, including two weeks of sales followed by two weeks without purchases. The company made zero Bitcoin purchases over the past week, leaving its total holdings unchanged at 843,775 BTC. This marks Strategy's longest confirmed stretch without adding to its Bitcoin stack in the last two years, as reported in the firm's 8K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rather than buy or sell Bitcoin, Strategy leaned entirely on its at-the-market common stock program to raise cash, selling over 2.7 million shares of Class A common stock to generate $263.5 million in net proceeds. The company's current 843,775 BTC balance follows the sale of 3,588 Bitcoin between June 29-July 5, which raised approximately $216 million and reduced the company's holdings from their previous level. BitcoinTreasuries ranks Strategy as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with 843,775 BTC, while Strive holds 19,921 BTC, placing it seventh among public companies tracked by the platform.
Strategy CEO Phong Le has directly linked further STRC issuance and Bitcoin purchases to a recovery in the preferred stock. During a July interview, Le said the company would resume issuing more STRC once it returned to par value, stating "We'll continue to build that. And yeah, when Stretch gets back to par, we'll issue more. We'll buy more Bitcoin." Under this funding model, a return to $100 would allow Strategy to sell new STRC shares on more favorable terms and use the proceeds to add Bitcoin. Until the discount closes, Le's comments indicate that the company has less incentive to expand the program. The company has already demonstrated this dynamic, with a July 6 filing showing it sold 3,588 BTC for $216 million to fund dividends on digital-credit securities and maintain liquidity, following which Saylor reported Strategy held 843,775 BTC and had increased its U.S. dollar reserves to $2.55 billion. Samson Mow expects SATA's recovery toward $100 could reassure investors that the funding structure used by Strive and Strategy remains functional, noting that "as SATA returns to par, you're going to see STRC return to par too, because people say, 'OK, this model's not broken.'"
