Software company Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, has ramped up its Bitcoin acquisition drive at a striking pace in early 2026. As of March 8, the company had amassed a total of 738,731 BTC. This brings its net year-to-date purchases to 66,231 BTC—an amount that nearly surpasses all of Strategy’s net Bitcoin acquisitions over the preceding three years, achieved in less than two months.
STRC Issuances Accelerate Bitcoin Investment
While Strategy has historically financed its Bitcoin investments through more conventional means like MSTR shares and convertible bonds, the company has recently leaned on a new instrument: its STRC perpetual preferred stock. Offering a robust 11.5% annual dividend yield and aiming to trade close to its nominal value, STRC shares have proved pivotal for capital raising. The week ending March 8 saw Strategy sell 3.78 million STRC shares, raising over $377 million in what marked the single highest weekly sales volume since the product’s launch in July. STRC issuances accounted for roughly one-third of the company’s total weekly capital raised—about $1.28 billion—underscoring this financing method’s growing weight in the overall model.
Rising Institutional Interest and Market Response
As STRC issuances drove fresh capital into the company, a significant share of the proceeds were swiftly directed into new Bitcoin purchases. According to data from STRC.live, March 9 alone saw a record STRC issuance, financing the purchase of approximately 1,420 BTC. Since its debut, STRC has funded the acquisition of over 33,976 BTC. Major investment portfolios such as Variance Capital, as well as marquee institutional players like BlackRock’s iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF) and the Fidelity Capital & Income Fund, have been drawn to STRC. Additionally, energy producer Prevalon Energy and crypto infrastructure firm Anchorage Digital have confirmed that they allocated portions of their treasuries to STRC.
In response, on March 9, Strategy updated its sales agreement, permitting various agents to sell STRC shares on the same day—including in after-hours trading and via block transactions. This move aims to quickly satisfy trader demand and provide greater flexibility in converting capital into Bitcoin holdings within the trading day.
Debate Grows Over STRC Costs and Sustainability
The high dividend yield offered to STRC investors comes at a price: approximately $36.8 million in cash obligations per month, amounting to $442 million annually. Critics have questioned the sustainability of this model, with long-time Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff warning that Strategy may be burning through cash at an unsustainable rate as its financing operations expand at breakneck speed.
Peter Schiff has argued that, at the current pace, Strategy risks facing ever-mounting cash burn due to its aggressive acquisition strategy coupled with high yield commitments.
Other well-known short sellers, such as James Chanos, have also voiced reservations, challenging Strategy’s framing of STRC as a “digital credit” product. Chanos points out that while the collateral is digital, STRC remains essentially a fiat-denominated debt instrument. In response, company representatives maintain that STRC is a Bitcoin-collateralized, yield-focused vehicle, capable of generating sustained funding for the business.
Market data show that MSTR stock has slipped roughly 8.3% since January—less severe than Bitcoin’s sharper 20% drop over the same period. This discrepancy highlights a key challenge for Strategy: finding the right balance between raising capital via stock and preferred shares, as the performance of these instruments increasingly shapes the company’s funding flexibility and market narrative.
