Strategy Put $176.3 Million Into Its Own Preferred Stock Instead of Bitcoin, With Its Last BTC Purchase Already Underwater

Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction) has bought no Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) this week, instead spending $176.3 million buying back its own preferred stock, according to a September 8 filing signed by general counsel Thomas C. Chow. MSTR trades at $134, down 1.57% today.

The move follows a roughly 10-week pause in Bitcoin purchases, during which Strategy sold about 7,000 BTC at $59,000 to $64,000 before buying 4,603 coins at an average of $80,318 between August 24 and 30. Now, with no new Bitcoin purchases and $176.3 million directed to its preferred stock, is Strategy changing how it deploys capital?

Strategy Put $176.3 Million Into STRC

Strategy directed the entire $176.3 million toward STRC, its variable-rate perpetual preferred stock. Unlike common stock, a perpetual preferred has no maturity date and pays a floating dividend. STRC is designed to trade around its $100 par value, and Strategy raised its annualized dividend rate from 11.50% to 12.00% to help keep the security near that level.

The company did not use the cash to support its other preferred securities, STRF, STRK, or STRD, and it also repurchased no MSTR common stock. Strategy funded the STRC purchases with existing cash rather than issuing new securities, and it made no sales through its at-the-market program, which allows it to sell shares into the market at prevailing prices. Of its four preferred stocks, STRC was the only one that received support this week.

In its September 8 filing, Strategy doubled its Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program from $1.0 billion to $2.0 billion. The program authorizes the company to repurchase STRC when the preferred stock trades below its $100 par value. Following the $176.3 million purchase disclosed in the same filing, roughly $1.19 billion remains available under the expanded authorization. Strategy also has a separate $1.0 billion program for MSTR common stock, but that facility remains unused.

Strategy has now spent roughly $811.5 million repurchasing STRC since the buyback campaign began in July. That figure includes the $25.0 million repurchased at an average 13.47% discount to par that Strategy reported in its Q2 2026 results.

Strategy Has a Bigger Capital Problem to Solve

Strategy is buying STRC below its $100 par value, which reduces the amount of preferred stock outstanding and cuts future dividend payments. The company is also using existing cash rather than issuing more shares, so the buyback does not add to the dilution pressure on MSTR holders. With the $3.75 billion USD Reserve left intact, management can argue that it is improving the capital structure without taking money set aside for preferred dividends and interest.

The company has built its investment case around accumulating Bitcoin, so another period with no new BTC purchases raises questions about where management sees the best return on its available cash. The latest 4,603 BTC purchase is already below its $80,318 entry price, while the separate $1.0 billion MSTR repurchase authorization was left untouched. Taken together, those choices suggest Strategy currently sees more value in buying back STRC than in adding Bitcoin or its common stock.

Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le asked MSCI in early September 2026 to withdraw an index rule that could remove Strategy from its global benchmarks, arguing that the rule unfairly targets the company. Losing index inclusion could reduce a source of automatic demand for MSTR because passive funds that track MSCI benchmarks buy and hold constituent stocks without making an independent investment decision.

The MSCI dispute is not directly connected to the STRC buyback, but both issues point to the same pressure on Strategy’s capital structure. Management is balancing the cost of its preferred securities, the price of its Bitcoin purchases, the potential dilution from new share sales, and the demand for MSTR itself. The STRC buyback therefore looks less like a routine share repurchase and more like one piece of a broader effort to manage how Strategy funds and supports its Bitcoin strategy.

Does Strategy Win, or Does Bitcoin?

Strategy can come out ahead if buying STRC below par reduces future dividend payments and helps keep the preferred stock close to its $100 target. CEO Phong Le described that as the program’s purpose, saying the company wants STRC to trade between $99 and $100 over time and plans to repurchase the stock in a regular, disciplined manner. From a corporate-finance perspective, buying back expensive preferred obligations at a discount is a reasonable use of cash.

Bitcoin gets a different answer because Strategy neither bought nor sold BTC this week, leaving its holdings unchanged. For a company built around Bitcoin accumulation, another week without a purchase raises questions about how long the pause will last and how much capital management plans to direct toward Bitcoin.

The next few weeks should provide a clearer picture. Investors will be watching for a return to Bitcoin buying, further use of the remaining $1.19 billion STRC authorization, new cash from stock sales or convertible debt, and the outcome of the MSCI consultation. If Strategy continues repurchasing preferred stock instead of buying Bitcoin, the company will start to look less like a Bitcoin accumulation strategy and more like a capital-structure play.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.