Strategy's preferred stock financing may cost it bitcoin, K33 argues

Strategy Strategy, Inc. (MSTR) would have held 843,303 BTC on Oct. 12 if it had largely avoided using its STRC preferred stock to finance bitcoin purchases this year, according to research and brokerage firm K33. The company held 848,250 BTC at the time.

In a new report, K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde calculated the alternative balance by removing the roughly $7.5 billion Strategy raised through STRC in the first half of 2026. He then assumed that the $4 billion Strategy earmarked for its dollar reserve from May to August and $1.6 billion in STRC buybacks had instead been used to purchase bitcoin. K33 also assumed Strategy would have avoided 90% of its STRC dividend payments and spent the difference on bitcoin. The calculation left MSTR issuance unchanged and used weekly average bitcoin prices.

The preferred shares helped Strategy raise money for bitcoin purchases without issuing more MSTR shares, but they also came with dividend payments that Strategy must continue to meet. Despite the preferred shares helping Strategy buy nearly 100,000 BTC in the first half of the year, Lunde questioned the financing approach. "Was the pref model a mistake? We believe the answer to that question is yes," he wrote.

The cost of Strategy's preferred shares

K33 put Strategy's annual preferred dividend obligations at $1.56 billion, up from about $830 million earlier this year, calculating that STRC's expansion accounted for $725 million of the increase. 

At $83,000 per bitcoin, Lunde put the additional annual dividend costs at the equivalent of roughly 8,740 BTC. He estimated that those costs would be enough to erase the 4,947 BTC difference between Strategy's holdings and K33's hypothetical balance in about seven months.

Strategy's dollar reserve provides some protection against those payments. K33 estimated that it could cover around 42 months of dividends, reducing the likelihood that Strategy would need to sell bitcoin. However, Lunde questioned the expense of holding the cash, assuming a 4% return on the reserve against a 12% coupon on STRC, arguing that common stock issuance would be a more efficient way to fund future bitcoin purchases.

In recent weeks, Strategy has heavily bought back STRC shares, which closed at $99.90 on Oct. 13, just below their $100 par value. The company proposed moving STRC and three other preferred stocks to daily dividend payments in September. The change still requires shareholder approval, and Strategy said it would not increase its regular dividend obligations.

Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) traded down 0.3% on Wednesday at $82,863, according to The Block's prices page.