Strategy’s Bitcoin Buying Accelerates as $48 Billion BTC Stash Sits Underwater

Strategy reported its fourth-largest Bitcoin purchase of the year on Tuesday, scooping up the digital asset with proceeds that partly came from preferred shares.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm purchased 2,500 BTC last week for $168 million, a press release showed. That lifted the company’s holdings to around 717,100 Bitcoin, which was worth about $48 billion as Bitcoin edged down to nearly $67,000, according to CoinGecko.

To fund its latest acquisition, Strategy issued $90.5 million worth of common stock. Meanwhile, the firm sold $78.5 million worth of its variable rate, or STRC, preferred stock. The product currently pays monthly dividends at an annualized rate of 11.25% in cash.

The balance underscores a shift in Strategy’s approach to acquiring Bitcoin in recent months, as the company’s total value has approached that of its holdings. Issuing preferred shares has become a bigger priority, as products that Michael Saylor has described as “digital credit.”

Strategy shares fell 2.6% to $130 on Tuesday, according to Yahoo Finance

The company’s co-founder and executive chairman described STRC as Strategy’s iPhone moment when it was introduced last year. At a total value of $3.4 billion, he has portrayed the product as an alternative to high-yield, low-volatility savings accounts for the masses.

Strategy established cash reserves last year to avail concerns that the Bitcoin-buying firm might not be able to meet associated costs. Last week, Strategy spent around $600,000 less on Bitcoin than it raised, suggesting that it slightly padded its $2.25 billion cash balance.

As the company’s stock price has tumbled 64% over the past six months, investors have fixated on the company’s ability to weather a sustained downturn. That focus has recently shifted toward the company’s convertible debt, which is subject to redemptions starting in 2028.

The company will seek to “equitize” $8.2 billion worth of convertible debt over the next three to six years, Saylor posted to X on Sunday, as opposed to repaying it in cash.

Last week, Saylor defended Strategy on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” arguing that the firm wouldn’t be forced to sell any Bitcoin if the digital asset were to fall 90% and stay there for four years. Instead, Saylor calmly said, “We’ll refinance the debt. We’ll just roll it forward.”

“Refinance where, Michael?” co-anchor Becky Quick dryly asked, questioning whether banks would lend to Strategy at that point. The exchange has since gone viral on social media, becoming a meme in financial circles, with critics calling Saylor’s stance absurd.

As Bitcoin has retreated from record levels in October, Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings have plunged in value, while swinging to a loss on paper. After spending $54.5 billion on the asset, the company was down around 12% on its Bitcoin, or around $3.6 billion.

On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt parent company DASTAN, traders penciled in an 18% chance on Tuesday that Strategy would sell Bitcoin this year. Earlier this month, they forecast as much as a 36% chance that event would occur.

Strategy’s business has come under pressure amid Bitcoin’s latest rout, but it’s not alone. On Monday, Metaplanet reported that its holdings took a ¥102 billion, or $664 million, hit in Q4. The former hotel manager, which is based in Japan, is the fourth largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

That company has yet to disclose a Bitcoin purchase this year. And as other Bitcoin-buying firms have pulled back, Strategy’s purchases have become relatively more pronounced. In January, for example, Strategy accounted for 93% of Bitcoin added among public firms alone.