Strategy shares have resumed their Bitcoin buying spree after a three-week pause, with the stock rising 7.4% to $165.20 in Monday premarket trading as Bitcoin climbed to $84,925. According to the latest Form 8-K filing with the SEC on September 21, the company acquired 950 Bitcoin for $75.7 million between September 14-20 at an average price of $79,670 per coin, including fees and expenses. This resumption of Bitcoin accumulation comes after Strategy had paused purchases since early September, demonstrating continued confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value proposition. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor teased the buy on Sunday with a post reading "A little more orange," true to his word as the firm broke its buying silence.
Strategy now holds 846,000 BTC following the latest purchases, with the company's total Bitcoin holdings valued at $63.80 billion at an average cost of $75,416 per coin. As reported by the latest regulatory filings, this position represents just over 4% of Bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply cap, making Strategy the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder. The company's entire Bitcoin stash was acquired over time for the combined total of $63.8 billion, with the latest Bitcoin purchase coming during the week ending September 20, when it acquired 950 BTC for $75.7 million at an average price of $79,670, funded through the sale of $75.7 million of USD Cash. Based on current market prices, Strategy's holdings carry an unrealized gain of approximately $8.05 billion. The company's market value continues to be largely driven by Bitcoin performance, with the stock trading at 0.88 times the value of the bitcoin behind it.
Strategy continued its aggressive repurchasing of Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch preferred stock (STRC) even as Bitcoin accumulation restarted, spending $174 million on approximately 1.77 million shares between September 14-20. The company bought back 1,751,480 STRC shares during the week, paying an average of about $99.34 per share, with the STRC stock closing at $98.85 during Monday's premarket session. Combined with previous purchases, Strategy has now spent $313.3 million repurchasing STRC shares over the three-week period, representing nearly 57% of the company's total weekly spending. The company has spent approximately $950.8 million repurchasing nearly 9.96 million STRC shares between July 20 and September 13, with the company retaining $876 million in authorization for further preferred stock repurchases after the latest transaction. The company increased its Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program authorization from $1 billion to $2 billion and has spent approximately $950.8 million on STRC repurchases since the program began in July.
Strategy is proposing a significant change to its preferred stock dividend structure, asking shareholders to approve daily dividends for its four U.S.-listed preferred stocks, with a vote scheduled for October 28. The proposal would change payment timing without altering dividend rates or total regular payouts, aiming to help STRC trade closer to its $100 stated value. If approved, STRC's first daily dividend would be paid on November 2, targeting the company's goal of supporting a trading price close to $100. STRC has remained below $100 since May, despite a 12% dividend rate and roughly $1 billion in preferred share buybacks, with the stock falling to as low as $71 during Bitcoin's selloff in June. Daily payments could make STRC more attractive to income investors by reducing the wait to receive and reinvest dividends, while smoothing price moves around payment dates. The main reason behind STRC's struggles has been attributed to competition from other companies, with Strategy having spent about $1 billion repurchasing preferred shares under its $2 billion program.
Funding for the latest transactions came directly from Strategy's cash balance, as the company made no sales through its at-the-market offering programs between September 14-20. Strategy used $75.7 million of USD Cash for the Bitcoin acquisition and another $174 million for STRC repurchases, bringing combined spending on the two transactions to $249.7 million. The absence of ATM sales meant Strategy did not issue common or preferred shares to replenish the cash used during the reporting period. Deployable USD Cash fell to $1.05 billion as of September 20, down nearly 20% from $1.30 billion a week earlier, with the balance having stood at $1.44 billion on September 7 and $1.61 billion at the end of August. The company maintains $5.04 billion in USD Reserve, which declined to $5.04 billion from $5.10 billion during the latest reporting period after $57.4 million was used for preferred dividends and debt interest. The company also paid $57.4 million in preferred dividends and debt interest from its USD Reserve during the week.
While Strategy resumed Bitcoin purchases, competitor Strive demonstrated a different approach to treasury building. According to recent SEC filings, Strive acquired 1,355 Bitcoin for approximately $107.7 million during the same overlapping period, bringing its total holdings to 26,355 BTC. The company's effective common shares increased by 2.14% during this period, while its BTC per effective common share rose 14.1% from 23,813 satoshis to 27,169 satoshis. Strive also expanded its SATA preferred stock program, with outstanding shares rising by 35.2% from 8.27 million to 11.18 million over four consecutive reporting weeks. This contrasts with Strategy's cash-funded approach, highlighting the different capital structures and financing strategies employed by the two companies in their Bitcoin accumulation strategies.
