Strategy's MSTR stock has climbed faster than Bitcoin during the cryptocurrency's recent rebound, even as the company keeps selling new shares instead of buying more Bitcoin. The gains have pushed the firm's preferred stock, STRC, back within reach of its $100 target and rebuilt more than $3 billion in unrealized profit on its Bitcoin treasury.
MSTR closed at $92.52 on Aug. 18 before climbing to $126.79 on Tuesday, a gain of about 37%, while Bitcoin rose roughly 22% over the same stretch. That outperformance came even as Strategy kept issuing new equity to raise cash.
Bitcoin's rebound revives Strategy's balance sheet
Bitcoin's sharp two-week recovery briefly pushed its price above $80,000, its highest level in more than three months, after spending much of early August near the low-$60,000 range. It has since slightly retraced to $78,772.
The rebound accelerated after the US Treasury moved to expand buybacks of longer-dated government debt, easing pressure on yields and weakening the dollar. Renewed optimism around US crypto policy, heavy short liquidations, and stronger demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs added further momentum.
Strategy holds 840,447 Bitcoin acquired for $63.36 billion at an average price of $75,385. With Bitcoin trading around $80,000, that position now carries more than $3 billion in unrealized gains, even though the company has not purchased Bitcoin since June.
Share sales, not Bitcoin buys, fund the recovery
Between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, Strategy sold 18.26 million MSTR shares through its at-the-market program and raised $2.01 billion in net proceeds. Since adopting its Bitcoin strategy, the company has sold about 139.45 million common shares for roughly $42.12 billion.
Of last week's proceeds, Strategy directed $136.4 million toward repurchasing 1.43 million STRC shares and added $300 million to its USD Reserve, lifting that pool to $5.10 billion, while most of the rest went into a new $1.59 billion USD Cash pool. Together the two pools give Strategy about $6.69 billion in dollar liquidity.
STRC closes in on its $100 par value
STRC, Strategy's flagship variable-rate preferred stock, fell as low as $71.25 during the June market stress. It has since recovered to around $97.2, a gain of roughly 35% from its lows.
Strategy has spent approximately $483.4 million under its $1 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program, leaving $516.6 million available, while its separate $1 billion authorization to repurchase MSTR common shares remains untouched. A sustained recovery toward par could reopen a financing channel Strategy has used to help fund the acquisition of more than 100,000 Bitcoin, without relying solely on stock sales.
Source: CryptoSlate
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
