Buying Pause Continues as Preferred Shares Trade Below Par
Strategy CEO Phong Le said the Bitcoin treasury firm will resume buying the cryptocurrency only after its Stretch (STRC) preferred shares return to their $100 par value. The company has not purchased any Bitcoin since late June, instead focusing on building a $3 billion cash reserve through a $467 million common-stock sale. Le told Bloomberg TV that issuing more preferred shares is "a big part of our capital plan" because it boosts Bitcoin per share for investors.
STRC has traded below $100 since mid-May, currently around $89. Below par, selling new preferred shares becomes unprofitable, which is why restoring the price is critical. Le noted that building a U.S. dollar reserve has helped lift the shares from a low of $75 to nearly $90. He emphasized the importance of having liquid dollar capital available for one to three years, a lesson learned in recent months.
'We're Not Going Anywhere'
Le dismissed concerns that Strategy is retreating as Bitcoin's dominant buyer, pointing to its 840,000 BTC holdings—roughly 4% of the total supply. "Anybody that's worried about Strategy shouldn't be," he said, noting that Bitcoin trades $30 billion to $40 billion daily and the firm's recent $216 million in sales "did not move the market." Those sales, initiated by co-founder Michael Saylor, had raised questions about the durability of the debt-and-equity model, but Standard Chartered analysts called them "mostly noise."
The CEO also downplayed a Bloomberg report about distressed funds seeking to swap STRC holdings, saying there have been "no material conversations" on the matter.
Worst-Case Scenario at $8,000–$10,000 Bitcoin
Le outlined a clear threshold for financial risk: "When Bitcoin gets down closer to $8,000 to $10,000 is when we're going to have to consider some of the risk associated with our debt." At current levels around $64,700, he said the balance sheet feels secure. He compared the current downturn to 2022, expressing confidence in the next bull market.
Strategy's MSTR stock has fallen over 77% in the past year, while Bitcoin has dropped 45% from its all-time high. The preferred-share engine that funds purchases remains stuck below par, leaving the buying spree on hold. Prediction market Myriad gives only a 13% chance that Strategy will hold over 1 million BTC before 2027, requiring more than 150,000 additional coins in less than half a year.