Strategy spends $208.2M on STRC buybacks, more than triple its $65.5M Bitcoin buy
In brief
- Strategy repurchased $208.2 million in STRC preferred shares, per a Monday 8-K filing.
- Strategy bought 811 BTC for about $65.5 million at an average price of $80,846.
- MSTR share sales raised $164 million, and $98.5 million went to USD Cash.
- STRC traded at $99.22 in Monday pre-market trading, below its $100 target price.
What the filing shows
Strategy paid an average price of $80,846 for those 811 BTC, per the filing. The money came from equity. Strategy sold about 1.18 million MSTR shares for net proceeds of $164 million, and about $65.5 million of that funded the Bitcoin purchase (the remaining $98.5 million was allocated to the company's USD Cash balance).
As of Sunday, Strategy held $132.7 million in USD Cash. It's also sitting on $4.79 billion in a separate US dollar reserve, according to the same filing as reported by Cointelegraph.
October tilted toward buybacks
Last week wasn't an isolated case. Cointelegraph reported that before the latest purchases, Strategy made about $664 million in STRC buybacks between Oct. 1 and Oct. 25, compared with about $72 million in Bitcoin acquisitions over the same period.
Buybacks, not Bitcoin, took the bigger share of the capital in both stretches.
The preferred stock itself is trading just under par. STRC rose 0.1% in Monday pre-market trading to $99.22, about 0.8% below its $100 target price, according to Yahoo Finance data cited by Cointelegraph. That gap matters because Strategy's policy is not to issue new STRC shares below $100, which limits that source of funding while the stock trades below its target. Strategy can still raise money elsewhere (last week's MSTR sale is one example), but it doesn't tap new STRC issuance under $100.
Metaplanet runs its own buyback
Strategy isn't the only Bitcoin treasury company buying back its own paper. Japan's Metaplanet reported buybacks of its common shares on Monday, Cointelegraph reported.
Metaplanet said it spent about 25.27 billion yen ($160 million) to buy back 96.45 million shares between Oct. 14 and Saturday. That's about 7.1% of its issued shares.
The two sets of figures cover different windows. Metaplanet's buyback ran from Oct. 14 through Saturday, while Strategy's $208.2 million in STRC repurchases and its $65.5 million Bitcoin buy covered the prior week, per its 8-K.
Frequently asked questions
Why does STRC trading below $100 matter for Strategy?
Strategy's policy is not to issue new STRC shares below $100. STRC traded at $99.22 in Monday pre-market trading, about 0.8% below its $100 target price, according to Yahoo Finance data cited by Cointelegraph. That limits STRC as a funding source while the stock stays below target.
How did Strategy fund its latest Bitcoin purchase?
Strategy sold about 1.18 million MSTR shares for net proceeds of $164 million. About $65.5 million of that funded the purchase of 811 BTC, and the remaining $98.5 million was allocated to its USD Cash balance, according to its Monday 8-K filing as reported by Cointelegraph.
