Competition has compounded the problem. Strive's SATA preferred security offers approximately a 13% yield with daily dividend payments and no underlying debt, trading near its $100 par. The yield gap has widened this year, drawing investor demand away from STRC. Retail investors hold an estimated 83% of outstanding STRC, about $8.8 billion, according to analysts cited in recent coverage.
The funding pressure surfaced visibly in early July when Strategy executed its largest bitcoin sale ever — 3,588 BTC sold across two tranches at average prices of $59,256 and $60,773, both roughly 20% below the company's $75,476 average cost basis. The $216 million in proceeds addressed liquidity demands from preferred shareholders after STRC fell below $75 in late June. An SEC filing also revealed that as of June 30, Strategy's bitcoin cost basis exceeded the fair value of its holdings, creating a tax complication.
Since those sales, Strategy has rebuilt its USD reserve to $3.75 billion as of the Q2 earnings report, covering more than 2.1 years of forecasted preferred dividends and interest expenses. Convertible debt was reduced by 18% to $6.7 billion through repurchases at an 8% discount. The company also authorized a $2 billion buyback program for preferred and common stock alongside bitcoin monetization through its Digital Credit Capital Framework.