Strategy spent $205 million buying back its own preferred shares last week, and bought exactly zero Bitcoin. The pause ends a five-week buying streak, and traders are now watching whether the world's biggest corporate Bitcoin holder is shifting its cash from Bitcoin to supporting its own stock.
Key points:
- Strategy bought or sold no Bitcoin between October 19 and 25, but repurchased 2.07 million STRC shares for $204.9 million.
- Its USD Cash balance fell about 46% to $242.4 million, while its Bitcoin stash stayed at 848,517 BTC.
- Since October began, Strategy has spent about $664 million on STRC buybacks, against only $72.3 million buying Bitcoin.
Between October 19 and 25, Strategy did not buy or sell any Bitcoin, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead, it used its USD Cash reserve to repurchase 2.07 million STRC preferred shares for about $204.9 million. Its Bitcoin holdings therefore stayed at 848,517 BTC, bought for $64.02 billion at an average price of $75,446 per coin, while its USD reserve held steady at $4.83 billion.
The shift is not a one-week blip. Since October began, Strategy has spent about $664 million repurchasing STRC shares, compared with $72.3 million buying just 851 BTC. Over the same stretch, its common stock fell 6.9% last week to close Friday at $146.02, and Bitcoin slipped toward $80,000, briefly dropping below that level on Monday.
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What happens next?
For traders, the message is mixed. Buying back preferred shares can steady STRC payouts and support the stock, but every dollar spent on buybacks is a dollar that is not buying Bitcoin. That removes one of the market's most reliable weekly Bitcoin bids, at least for now, so the next weekly filing is the number to watch. Traders now ask one question: Will Strategy buy Bitcoin again next week, or keep favouring buybacks?
There is a second clock ticking. Earlier this month, MSCI said it will adopt new rules against so-called non-operating companies, which could ultimately see Strategy's stock excluded from its indexes. Exclusion could make it harder for Strategy to raise money to buy more Bitcoin, so index news and the next filing both matter. The risk for readers is simple: one quiet week is not a change of strategy, and the company's Bitcoin stash has not shrunk by a single coin.
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— BitByLine News Desk
This post is news only, not financial advice. Always do your own research before buying or selling crypto. Read our full Disclaimer.
Sources: Cointelegraph, The Block.