Article

Strategy makes largest bitcoin purchase in 16 months as preferred share demand surges

The company bought 34,164 bitcoin for $2.54 billion last week, funded largely by issuance of its STRC dividend-paying preferred stock

by TechDefused Newsroom
Strategy makes largest bitcoin purchase in 16 months as preferred share demand surges

Strategy, the bitcoin treasury company formerly known as MicroStrategy, bought $2.54 billion of bitcoin last week in its largest single acquisition since November 2024.

The purchase of roughly 34,164 bitcoin at an average price of $74,395 per coin lifted the company's total holdings to around 815,000 bitcoin, worth approximately $61.4 billion, according to an SEC filing on Monday.

The acquisition was funded primarily through the sale of nearly 21.8 million shares of STRC, Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, which raised $2.18 billion in net proceeds, alongside $366 million from common stock issuance.

STRC, which pays an annualised dividend of 11.5% and is designed to trade near its $100 par value, saw heightened demand in the days before its ex-dividend date last Wednesday.

Andy Constan, founder of research firm Damped Spring Advisors and a former Strategy bear, attributed the surge to dividend-capture traders, investors who buy shares immediately before the ex-dividend date and sell shortly after.

He said leveraged traders who had never previously attempted a dividend-capture trade piled into STRC in the run-up.

The preferred share traded at or above the $100 mark for ten consecutive trading days before the ex-dividend date and earlier in the week recorded a $1.1 billion single-day trading session, nearly 50% above its previous high.

Strategy has now proposed shifting STRC's dividend payments from monthly to semi-monthly, arguing the change would reduce post-dividend price swings, improve liquidity and allow the company to purchase bitcoin at a steadier pace.

Related reading

A shareholder vote on the proposal is scheduled for an annual meeting on 8 June.

Strategy's total cost basis for its bitcoin holdings stands at roughly $61.6 billion, or $75,527 per coin, meaning the stockpile sat close to breakeven at Monday's bitcoin price of around $75,400.

The recap

  • Strategy executed a major bitcoin purchase driven by STRC traders.
  • The buy added $2.5 billion to its bitcoin position.
  • It is the largest buy since 2024, Decrypt reported.
by TechDefused Newsroom