Strategy, the Bitcoin holding company founded by Michael Saylor, has faced significant pressure as its shares plummeted 73% since July of last year. A key ongoing challenge involves Strategy's dividend instrument, STRC, which pays twice-monthly dividends on a $100 per share par value. STRC fell from parity on May 15 and has not returned, marking nearly 100 days below its par value.
To support dollar reserves and ensure dividends for preferred shareholders, Strategy has sold nearly 7,000 Bitcoin—worth almost half a billion U.S. dollars—since June. These sales followed vague statements by Saylor regarding Bitcoin sales, which he later clarified applied to his personal stash rather than company-owned BTC.
While the Bitcoin sales and STRC repurchases lifted the preferred shares from a brief low of $75 per share in June, the measures have not restored STRC to the $100 par value. During the second-quarter earnings call, Phong Le and Saylor assured investors that the company possessed the means and intention to bring STRC back to parity. However, STRC remains 5% below parity three weeks after those assurances.
Amid investor questions regarding executive commitment to the share price, executive chairman Michael Saylor has maintained a steady stream of AI-generated videos on social media, featuring content such as songs about using leverage to purchase Bitcoin and clips depicting him speaking Japanese in various locales.
