What Is STRC Stock? Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy Explained

Key Takeaways

• 🏛️ Strategy Inc. (MSTR) is the first public company to make Bitcoin its primary reserve asset, now holding over 846,842 BTC or roughly 4% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist.
• 💵 STRC is Strategy’s preferred stock with a variable dividend of 11.50% per year (June 2026), designed for investors who want regular income with far less volatility than MSTR.
• ⚙️ Strategy accumulates Bitcoin not from operating cash, but through three instruments: zero-interest convertible notes, an at-the-market (ATM) share offering program, and preferred stock issuances like STRC.
• 🌏 Investors can buy MSTR exposure through Pintu (as MSTRON, starting from approximately Rp11,000) or buy STRC directly through an international broker with a minimum of around $100 per share.

What Is MicroStrategy / Strategy Inc. (MSTR)?

Strategy Inc., formerly known as MicroStrategy, is an American public company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR. Since 2020, MicroStrategy has transformed into the world’s leading corporate Bitcoin investor and holds more Bitcoin than any other publicly disclosed entity.

MicroStrategy rebranded to Strategy on February 5, 2025, unveiling a new Bitcoin-inspired logo. The name change signaled a full pivot toward Bitcoin and AI-powered analytics software.

For a deeper look at MicroStrategy/Strategy and how to buy MSTRON, read: What Is MicroStrategy (MSTRON)? — Pintu Academy

From Business Intelligence to Bitcoin Company

Strategy was founded in 1989 by Michael Saylor, Sanju Bansal, and Thomas Spahr in Tysons Corner, Virginia. For over three decades, the company operated in the business intelligence space, selling data analytics software to large enterprises and competing with IBM and Oracle. Its stock drifted between $100 and $200 for years, rarely drawing attention on Wall Street.

Everything changed in August 2020. Michael Saylor announced that MicroStrategy had just purchased 21,454 Bitcoin for $250 million using the company’s cash reserves. Saylor’s argument was straightforward: Bitcoin was a better long-term store of value than the dollar.

Strategy’s software business is still running and expanding toward AI-powered analytics, but that is no longer the company’s core identity. Strategy today defines itself as “the world’s first and largest Bitcoin Treasury company.”

MSTR Historical Stock Performance

Strategy is no longer valued by conventional corporate metrics. MSTR has essentially become Bitcoin in stock form. When Bitcoin rises, MSTR typically rises further. When Bitcoin falls, MSTR typically falls harder.

Here is MSTR’s price journey since the Bitcoin pivot in 2020:

Two figures stand out. First, from $9 in August 2020 to its peak of $543 in November 2024, MSTR gained nearly 60x in four years. $10,000 invested in MSTR in August 2020 grew to roughly $324,290, a gain of +3,143% over five years. Meanwhile, you will only get +922% for a direct Bitcoin investment over the same period.

Second, from the all-time high of $543 down to the current $127–$130 range, MSTR has fallen more than 75% from its peak. That decline is steeper than Bitcoin’s own correction (-51%) over the same period. This is the risk every MSTR investor needs to understand going in.

How Much Bitcoin Does Strategy Hold?

As of June 8, 2026, Strategy holds 846,842 Bitcoin at an average purchase price of $75,680 per coin and a total acquisition cost of approximately $63.97 billion. Strategy’s holdings represent roughly 4% of all the Bitcoin that will ever exist. No other entity has publicly disclosed holding anywhere close to this amount.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, as of June 9, 2026, the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder is Twenty One Capital, with approximately 43,514 BTC, which is less than 6% of Strategy’s position. Throughout 2026, Strategy recorded 12 consecutive weekly Bitcoin purchases, funded by the financial instruments discussed later in this article.

One notable development: in late May 2026, Strategy sold a small portion of its Bitcoin for the first time in four years, 32 coins worth $2.5 million, to pay dividends to STRC preferred stockholders. Saylor described the sale as strategic and not the start of a consistent selling program. It sparked debate in the investment community regardless, especially as Bitcoin ETF outflows were accelerating at the same time.

What Is STRC? Strategy Inc.’s Preferred Stock

Strategy does not only raise capital through common stock. Since mid-2025, the company has launched a new class of financial instruments targeting a different investor profile: those who prefer regular income over chasing price appreciation. STRC is the first and largest of these instruments.

STRC is the Nasdaq ticker for the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock issued by Strategy Inc. In plain terms: a preferred stock with a variable dividend rate. STRC first sold to the public in July 2025 at an offering price of $90 per share, raising approximately $2.5 billion in a single transaction. At the time, this was the largest IPO in the United States in 2025. As of June 2026, the total outstanding value of STRC has exceeded $10.4 billion.

The word “preferred” is not just a label. STRC holders sit higher than MSTR holders in the company’s asset claim hierarchy: if Strategy faced liquidation, STRC holders would receive payment before common stockholders. Their position does, however, sit below bondholders (the company’s creditors).

STRC vs MSTR: Key Differences

The clearest way to distinguish the two is to look at what each instrument offers its investors.

MSTR is common stock. There is no guaranteed income. The investment rises and falls with Bitcoin’s price, with even higher risk amplification built in.

STRC operates on a different logic. STRC is lending capital to Strategy in exchange for monthly dividend payments. The price of STRC is designed to trade near $100 per share at all times because Strategy adjusts the dividend rate each month to keep the price anchored there. Upside potential is nearly zero, but volatility is far smaller than MSTR.

One critical clause to understand: STRC is not backed by Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings. Although nearly all proceeds from STRC sales go toward buying Bitcoin, STRC holders have no direct claim on that Bitcoin. Strategy states this explicitly in its prospectus: preferred securities “are not collateralized by the Company’s bitcoin holdings and only have a preferred claim on the residual assets of the company.“

How do the two instruments fit together in Strategy’s overall plan? Proceeds from STRC sales fund more Bitcoin purchases. More Bitcoin on the balance sheet raises the Bitcoin Per Share value of MSTR, without diluting existing MSTR holders. This is why Strategy describes its shift toward “preferred capital” as the centerpiece of its 2026 strategy. In a bull market, STRC and MSTR reinforce each other.

STRC Dividends: How Do They Work?

Strategy sets the STRC dividend rate monthly with one objective: keep STRC trading near $100 per share. If the price starts falling on weak market sentiment, Strategy can raise the dividend to make the stock more attractive again. If demand is too strong and the price threatens to exceed $100, the dividend can be lowered. The mechanism is written into the prospectus, with a floor tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) so the dividend cannot suddenly collapse.

The dividend rate history illustrates the mechanism clearly:

The rate climbed for seven consecutive months from 9.00% to 11.50%, then held flat through June 2026. Strategy’s decision not to raise further even as STRC’s price slipped to around $96 in early June suggests the company is balancing growing dividend costs against the need to maintain price stability.

To put it in concrete terms: one share of STRC at $100 par value generates approximately $11.50 per year, or about $0.96 per month. That rate compares favorably to most savings products globally. But STRC is not a savings account. There is no government insurance protecting your principal, and Strategy can lower the dividend at any time, entirely at its own discretion.

Starting in July 2026, payments shift from monthly to semi-monthly, after shareholders approved the change at the annual meeting on June 8, 2026. Record dates will fall on the 15th of each month, with the first payment under the new system on July 15, 2026.

Can International Investors Buy STRC?

STRC is listed on Nasdaq and available on most major international brokerage platforms. It is not yet available as a tokenized stock product in Indonesia the way MSTR is through Pintu. Buying STRC requires an account with an international broker.

The Financial Instruments Behind MSTR’s Bitcoin Accumulation

Strategy holds more than 846,842 Bitcoin. Most of those holdings were funded through three interlocking financial instruments: convertible notes, an at-the-market share offering program, and preferred stock issuances. Understanding all three matters because this is where the real mechanics and the real risks of Strategy’s business model live.

1. Convertible Notes: How MSTR Borrows Money to Buy Bitcoin

A convertible note is a debt instrument that can be converted into company shares in the future, subject to certain conditions. Strategy issues these notes to raise cash, which it then uses entirely to buy Bitcoin.

What makes Strategy’s convertible notes unusual is the interest rate: 0%. Strategy borrows billions of dollars without paying a single dollar of interest to its lenders.

Why would any investor accept that? Because the return is not interest, it is an option. If MSTR’s stock price rises enough above the preset conversion price, noteholders can convert their debt into MSTR shares. For institutional investors who are bullish on Bitcoin, this is an asymmetric trade: if Bitcoin rises and MSTR follows, they profit from the equity conversion. If not, their full principal returns at maturity.

Example: In February 2025, Strategy issued $2 billion in convertible notes at 0% coupon with a 2030 maturity date. The conversion price was set at $433.43 per MSTR share, or roughly 35% above the market price at the time of issuance. The full $2 billion went toward buying Bitcoin. As of May 2026, total outstanding convertible notes stood at $6.7 billion, after Strategy repurchased a portion of the 2029 maturity notes using company cash.

2. At-the-Market Offering (ATM): Issue Shares, Buy Bitcoin Immediately

An at-the-market offering (ATM) is a mechanism for issuing new shares gradually and directly into the open market, without a formal long-form offering process. Strategy runs this program on an almost weekly basis.

The process is simple: Strategy sells new MSTR shares into the market, collects the proceeds in dollars, and immediately uses those dollars to buy Bitcoin. No speculative pause, no waiting for a better entry price on Bitcoin.

Example: During April 20–26, 2026, Strategy sold 1,451,601 shares of MSTR, generating $255 million, and immediately purchased 3,273 Bitcoin at an average price of $77,906 per coin. As of June 2026, Strategy still has $26.3 billion in ATM capacity remaining for MSTR shares.

The ATM works best when MSTR trades above the value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings, because every new share issued effectively generates more Bitcoin than its face value. The trade-off is real, however. Each new share issued dilutes the ownership stake of existing shareholders by expanding the total MSTR share count.

3. NAV Premium: Why MSTR Can Trade Above the Value of Its Bitcoin

To understand why the ATM and convertible notes work as effectively as they do, one concept is essential: mNAV.

mNAV (market Net Asset Value) compares MSTR’s market capitalization to the total value of the Bitcoin Strategy owns. The calculation: market cap divided by the value of Bitcoin holdings. An mNAV of 2 means investors are paying twice the price of Bitcoin to get equivalent exposure through MSTR shares.

Example using current figures: As of June 2026, Strategy holds 846,842 Bitcoin. At a Bitcoin price of around $65,000, the total value of those holdings is approximately $54.9 billion. MSTR's market capitalization at the same time is around $40.9 billion, meaning mNAV based on market cap is currently below 1.

Why did mNAV ever run well above 1? MSTR offers accessibility that direct Bitcoin cannot: it trades in any standard brokerage account and can be included in institutional funds and pension vehicles. At the cycle peak in November 2024, MSTR’s mNAV approached 3x.

mNAV is the engine behind the whole strategy. When it is high, Strategy can issue new shares and buy Bitcoin cheaper than its market price, then use that Bitcoin to keep mNAV elevated. When mNAV compresses as it has now, the engine slows. There is also a real risk that Strategy could be forced to sell Bitcoin as losses accumulate. This is the structural risk most commonly missed by investors focused only on Bitcoin’s price direction.

The Core of Michael Saylor’s Strategy: Bitcoin Treasury

Why Did Strategy Choose Bitcoin as Its Reserve Asset?

In 2020, Strategy was sitting on a large cash position that was quietly losing value. Interest rates were near zero, global fiscal stimulus kept expanding, and government bonds no longer protected purchasing power. Saylor needed a replacement asset.

Gold failed two basic criteria: its supply can grow through new mining, and its storage and transportation costs are high. Real estate was too illiquid and tied to specific jurisdictions. Bitcoin met what neither could offer: a maximum supply of 21 million coins that no single entity can change, the ability to transfer value anywhere in the world in minutes, and a four-year halving schedule that ensures the rate of new supply continuously decreases.

In August 2020, Saylor acted on the conviction: 21,454 Bitcoin at $250 million, from the company’s cash reserves.

Which Companies Are Following Saylor’s Playbook?

As of June 2026, approximately 198 public companies worldwide have adopted some form of Bitcoin treasury strategy. Strategy dominates the field by a wide margin, holding around 76% of all Bitcoin owned by companies in this group.

The most notable players:

• Twenty One Capital (US): 43,514 BTC. Backed by Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald, this is the second-largest Bitcoin treasury company after Strategy.
• Metaplanet (Japan): 40,177 BTC as of Q1 2026. Often called “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” Metaplanet was the first non-American company to break into the top three corporate Bitcoin holders. Its target is 100,000 BTC by end of 2026.
• MARA Holdings (US): approximately 35,303 BTC, after selling 15,133 and 3,386 Bitcoin in March and May 2026 as part of a strategic shift toward AI and data center operations.

Most of these companies have not managed to replicate Strategy’s efficiency. They lack the scale to secure zero-interest convertible note terms and do not have the same brand recognition in the capital markets. Saylor’s strategy can be copied in form, but the execution efficiency is far harder to match.

Can I Buy MSTR and STRC?

There are two distinct paths, depending on which instrument you want.

Buying MSTR through Pintu

The simplest way to get MSTR exposure from Indonesia is through the Pintu app, which offers MSTRON: a digital asset-backed stock token that replicates MSTR’s price in real time. Pintu is licensed and supervised by OJK (Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority), so purchases fall within Indonesia’s regulatory framework.

How to buy:

1. Download the Pintu app and complete KYC verification (around 5–10 minutes).
2. Deposit funds via bank transfer or QRIS.
3. Open Market > MSTRON and tap Buy.

The minimum purchase starts from around Rp11,000, no requirement to buy a full share. For a complete step-by-step guide, read: How to Buy MicroStrategy (MSTRON) Shares in Indonesia — Pintu Academy.

Buying STRC through an international broker

STRC is not available on Pintu. Buying it requires an account with an international broker. These brokers are not regulated by OJK, so investor protections differ from Indonesian-licensed platforms.

Conclusion

Strategy Inc. is a financial experiment unlike anything that existed before. It is a financial machine that uses zero-interest debt, weekly share issuances, and valuation premium to accumulate Bitcoin at a scale no individual investor can replicate. This resulted in Strategy accumulating 846,842 Bitcoin, or roughly 4% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist.

There are two ways to participate in this story. MSTR through MSTRON on Pintu offers direct exposure to price movements, with risks and potential upside to match. STRC offers fixed income with far lower volatility, but requires an international broker account and is not backed by Strategy’s actual Bitcoin holdings.

One thing is worth keeping front of mind: both instruments depend on the same single variable, and that is the price of Bitcoin. When Bitcoin rises, the three instruments reinforce each other. When Bitcoin falls for an extended period, pressure on Strategy intensifies because obligations to bondholders and preferred stockholders remain fixed even as the value of the underlying asset shrinks.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Crypto asset prices are volatile and subject to change. Always do your own research (DYOR) before investing.

FAQ

Who is Michael Saylor?

Michael Saylor is the founder and Executive Chairman of Strategy Inc., an American public company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR. He became one of the most prominent corporate Bitcoin advocates after leading the company’s decision to allocate its cash reserves to Bitcoin starting in August 2020. Under his leadership, Strategy now holds over 846,842 Bitcoin, more than any other publicly disclosed entity in the world.

What is the difference between MSTR and STRC, and which is right for me?

MSTR is common stock that gives direct exposure to Bitcoin’s price with high volatility and unlimited upside potential. STRC is preferred stock designed to hold near $100 per share and pay a variable dividend of 11.50% per year as of June 2026, but with very limited price appreciation. MSTR suits investors who want leveraged Bitcoin exposure. STRC suits investors who want regular income with lower volatility. Neither is backed by Strategy’s actual Bitcoin holdings.

How does MicroStrategy buy hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin without enough cash?

Strategy uses three primary instruments. First, zero-interest convertible notes: the company borrows billions of dollars without paying interest, giving lenders the option to convert their debt to MSTR shares instead. Second, the at-the-market offering (ATM) program: Strategy sells new shares weekly and immediately uses the proceeds to buy Bitcoin. Third, preferred stock issuances like STRC, which raise capital from retail and institutional investors. Together, these instruments allow Strategy to accumulate Bitcoin far beyond what its operating cash flow would allow.

What is Bitcoin Yield and why is it Saylor’s primary KPI?

Bitcoin Yield measures the growth in Bitcoin holdings per share over time, calculated as the percentage change in the ratio between total Bitcoin owned and total diluted shares outstanding. Saylor made it the company’s primary performance metric because it proves that even as Strategy continuously issues new shares, each share of MSTR still represents more Bitcoin than it did before. As of May 25, 2026, Strategy’s year-to-date Bitcoin Yield was 13.3%.

Can I buy MSTR and STRC from outside the US?

Yes. MSTR is available through most major international brokerage accounts as a standard Nasdaq-listed stock. STRC is also listed on Nasdaq and accessible through most major brokerage platforms globally. Strategy.com/strc/learn has live pricing and dividend details. For Indonesian investors, MSTR is also available through the Pintu app as MSTRON, starting from around Rp11,000.

References

• What Is STRC? Strategy’s Bitcoin-Linked Preferred Stock Explained, Backpack Learn (accessed June 10, 2026)
• STRC Information, Strategy Inc. (accessed June 10, 2026)
• Strategy Inc STRC Dividend History, MarketBeat (accessed June 10, 2026)
• Strategy shareholders approve semi-monthly dividend plan, Investing.com (accessed June 10, 2026)
• What Are Strategy Preferred Shares? STRK, STRF, STRD, and STRC Explained, Backpack Learn (accessed June 10, 2026)
• Strategy Completes $2 Billion Offering of 0% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2030, Strategy Inc., February 2025
• Strategy to Repurchase $1.5 Billion of 2029 Convertible Bonds, CoinDesk, May 2026
• Deconstructing Strategy (MSTR): Premium, Leverage, and Capital Structure, VanEck (accessed June 10, 2026)
• Strategy sells 1.45 million shares, acquires 3,273 bitcoin for $255 million, Investing.com (accessed June 10, 2026)