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Michael Saylor’s company is running low on ammunition. Strategy, the Bitcoin-focused treasury firm, has now burned through $1.28 billion of its $2 billion STRC rescue fund — leaving less than $724 million to keep the share price afloat. And the stock still can’t hold $100.
Why It Matters
The depletion of Strategy's rescue fund highlights the increasing challenges faced by firms heavily invested in Bitcoin, particularly as market volatility continues to impact asset valuations. With STRC's inability to maintain its projected share price despite significant financial backing, this situation raises concerns about investor confidence in similar cryptocurrency-linked financial instruments and could signal a broader caution in the market regarding high-yield investments tied to digital assets. As the landscape shifts, stakeholders may reassess the sustainability of such strategies amidst ongoing regulatory and economic pressures.
STRC was supposed to be the safe bet. Launched in July 2025 as a perpetual preferred stock, it was pitched to investors as a high-yield instrument that would benefit from Bitcoin’s upside without the gut-punch volatility that comes with holding Bitcoin directly. The dividend looked attractive. The structure seemed stable. Saylor and Strategy’s CEO compared it to dependable financial products, leaning hard on the dividend story while playing down the downside. Investors bought in. Then the price started sliding.
STRC’s Price Has Rarely Touched $100
Over the past year, STRC has mostly traded below $99. Not slightly below — shares dipped into the $70s and $80s at points, which is a long way from the $100 target that was baked into the product’s identity from day one. The stock opened at $99.18 after one recent session, which counts as a recovery of sorts given it had previously fallen below $72. But that’s a pretty thin margin of comfort for a product sold on stability.
The $2 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program was set up to buy back STRC and three other stocks — STRF, STRD, and STRK. In practice, the buyback firepower has gone almost entirely toward STRC. The other three haven’t seen meaningful repurchase activity. Strategy seems to be triaging, putting resources where the bleeding is worst.
Last week alone, the company spent $151.7 million buying back STRC shares. The average repurchase price came in at $98.86 per share. That’s up sharply from $86.52 back in July, which tells you something about how the math is changing. Buying shares closer to $100 costs more per unit and eats through the fund faster. Strategy has now repurchased roughly 13.3 million shares — about one in every eight outstanding shares. That’s not a small operation.
MSTR Dilution Is Funding the Whole Thing
Here’s where it gets uncomfortable for common shareholders. The repurchase program is being funded primarily by diluting MSTR, the company’s common stock. Strategy issues more MSTR shares, raises cash, then uses that cash to buy back STRC. MSTR sits subordinate to STRC in the capital structure, so common shareholders are basically absorbing cost to prop up preferred holders. It’s a deliberate choice, and the company hasn’t been shy about it — but it does raise questions about how long that trade-off stays acceptable.
Bitcoin’s performance hasn’t helped. STRC was designed partly around the assumption that Bitcoin would keep climbing, generating returns that would make the dividend promises easy to keep. That hasn’t played out the way Strategy hoped. Bitcoin underperformed relative to expectations, which put pressure on the dividend structure. The board’s response was to boost STRC’s dividend to 12% — and then authorize a bigger buyback fund. First $1 billion, authorized June 29. Then doubled to $2 billion by September 8. Both moves came from the board directly.
So the escalation looks like this: price falls, dividend gets bumped, buyback fund gets expanded, more MSTR gets diluted to fund purchases. Rinse. The cycle hasn’t broken yet.
Rising Costs, Shrinking Buffer
The financial pressure is real and it’s growing. When the average repurchase price was $86.52, each dollar of the fund bought more shares. Now that the average has climbed to $98.86, the fund depletes faster for the same number of shares. Strategy has spent $1.28 billion and still hasn’t locked in consistent $100 trading. Under $724 million remains. Whether that’s enough to finish the job is unclear.
No further comments from Strategy on what comes next if the fund runs dry. That silence is probably notable. The company hasn’t laid out a Plan B publicly, and the board hasn’t announced any additional fund expansion beyond the $2 billion already authorized.
The three other stocks in the program — STRF, STRD, STRK — remain basically untouched by buyback activity. All the focus is on STRC. That concentration makes sense given where the price pain has been, but it also means those other instruments are on their own for now.
Strategy has repurchased approximately 13.3 million STRC shares at an average price of $98.86.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much of Strategy’s STRC buyback fund has been spent?
Strategy has spent $1.28 billion of its $2 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program, leaving under $724 million remaining.
How is Strategy funding the STRC repurchase program?
The buybacks are primarily funded by diluting MSTR common stock — Strategy issues new MSTR shares to raise the cash needed to repurchase STRC shares.
