Strategy makes small Bitcoin purchase amid preferred stock repurchases
Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, made its smallest Bitcoin purchase of 2026, acquiring just 334 BTC for $28.7 million between October 1 and October 4. The average price per Bitcoin during this period was $85,838.80, bringing the company's total holdings to 848,000 BTC. This purchase was significantly smaller than the previous yearly low of 520 BTC bought in June.
Despite the modest purchase, Strategy's existing Bitcoin holdings performed well, with Bitcoin gaining about 43% during the third quarter. This rally lifted the carrying value of the company’s holdings to $70.82 billion as of September 30. Strategy estimated a $20.91 billion digital-asset gain for the quarter under fair-value accounting, though this does not represent realized trading profit. The rally pushed the Bitcoin value above its aggregate acquisition cost of roughly $63.97 billion.
Chaitanya Jain, Strategy’s head of investor relations, noted that every $1,000 increase in Bitcoin’s price during the third quarter represented an $848 million fair market value gain for the company. However, relatively little new capital was allocated to adding to its Bitcoin position during the past week. Strategy sold 92,894 MSTR shares for $15.7 million and used another $13 million from cash to finance the latest Bitcoin purchase.
The company continues to focus heavily on repurchasing its variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, STRC. Between September 28 and October 4, Strategy spent $176.3 million repurchasing about 1.77 million STRC shares, more than six times what it spent on Bitcoin. This pushed total spending under its preferred-stock repurchase authorization to roughly $1.45 billion, with $547.2 million remaining under a program that was doubled to $2 billion in September.
Despite these efforts, STRC has yet to return sustainably to its $100 stated amount. Strategy aims to have STRC trade between $99 and $100 over time, but it last closed at $100 in mid-May and has remained below that level for nearly 100 consecutive trading sessions. The company has taken several steps to address this, including raising STRC's annual dividend rate to 12%, beginning systematic repurchases, and shifting dividend payments from monthly to semi-monthly.
Strategy is now proposing another redesign, asking MSTR shareholders to approve daily dividends across its four US-listed preferred securities. If approved, STRC would begin accruing dividends daily on November 1, with the first payment under the revised schedule due November 2. The proposal is intended to support trading at or near its $100 stated amount and reduce price fluctuations, improve liquidity, and attract additional demand.