Strategy’s key fundraising engine just turned back on. After sitting below par for over a week, the company’s preferred stock STRC clawed its way back to $100, and all eyes are now on Michael Saylor’s next move in the Bitcoin market.

STRC Recovers Par Value After a Tough Week

Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, closed at $99.99 on May 8 and climbed back to $100 in after-hours trading. It ended a painful stretch below par that had effectively shut down one of the company’s most powerful Bitcoin-buying tools.

The recovery took ten full trading sessions after the last ex-dividend date. That timeline tracks closely with what analysts have observed as the typical post-dividend recovery window for STRC. The stock traded in a tight range between $99.97 and $99.99 throughout the session, showing far less volatility than most other crypto-related equities.

Despite the narrow price movement, the day attracted $218 million in trading volume. That level of liquidity signals continued strong investor interest in the instrument, even during periods of price softness.

Why the $100 Level Matters So Much

This is not just a psychological milestone. The $100 par value is the operational heartbeat of Strategy’s entire Bitcoin acquisition model.

STRC is built around a simple but powerful idea: keep the share price close to $100 at all times by adjusting the dividend payout each month. When the price drops below par, the board increases the yield to pull in buyers. When it rises above, the yield gets trimmed to cool demand. This self-correcting mechanism is what allows Strategy to continuously sell new shares at or near face value and channel the proceeds directly into Bitcoin.

When STRC falls below $100, that engine stalls. New share issuances become more expensive and less efficient. Capital flowing into Bitcoin slows to a trickle or stops entirely. That is precisely what happened last week when the STRC ATM tracker showed only enough proceeds raised to buy just over 8 BTC. Industry observers had expected far more.

The instrument currently carries an annual dividend yield of 11.5%, with the next ex-dividend date set for May 15, 2026. Since its launch in July 2025, STRC has scaled remarkably fast.

• STRC has grown to over $8.5 billion in outstanding notional value in under nine months
• It has become the most actively traded preferred stock in the world, with an average daily volume of $375 million
• Strategy has raised $5.58 billion through STRC alone in 2026 year-to-date
• Roughly 80% of STRC shares are held by retail investors, compared to 40% for MSTR common shares

Saylor Hinted at a Bitcoin Buy This Week

Before STRC recovered, Michael Saylor had already dropped a hint. The Strategy executive chairman signalled that Bitcoin buying could resume this week. Crypto community members on X are watching closely, with many expecting a formal acquisition announcement as early as Monday, May 11, following the pattern of recent Monday disclosures.

The last confirmed purchase came on April 27, when Strategy acquired 3,273 BTC for $255 million. Before that, the company had been on a remarkable run. In March and April alone, Strategy bought over 100,000 Bitcoin worth more than $7.7 billion, including a single-week purchase of 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion that was the company’s largest weekly acquisition since November 2024.

As of May 3, 2026, Strategy holds 818,334 BTC, acquired at an average cost of $75,537 per coin for a total outlay of approximately $61.81 billion. That stack represents 3.9% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply and carries a market value of roughly $64 billion.

The pause in buying last week coincided directly with STRC’s dip below par. It was not the first time this pattern emerged. In late March 2026, Strategy suspended Bitcoin purchases for a similar period when STRC was unable to raise fresh capital due to the same below-par problem.

Strategy Is Restructuring STRC to Prevent Future Stalls

Strategy is not sitting still. The company has proposed a significant change to how STRC dividends are paid, and shareholders are already voting on it.

The proposal would shift STRC from monthly dividend payments to semi-monthly, meaning payouts would happen twice per month. The annualized yield stays the same at 11.5%, and total annual obligations remain unchanged. But each individual payment would be smaller and more frequent, which is expected to reduce the sharp post-ex-dividend price dips that have repeatedly pushed STRC below par.

“Semi-monthly payouts are expected to reduce the typical post-ex-dividend price drop, lower volatility, and help keep STRC trading closer to its $100 par value.”

The shareholder vote is set for June 8, 2026. If approved, STRC would become the only preferred security in the world paying dividends twice per month, a distinction the company is clearly proud of. The first semi-monthly payment under the new structure would arrive on July 15, with a record date of June 30.

STRC’s historical volatility has already declined sharply, from an average of 13% between August 2025 and March 2026 down to just 2% between March and April 2026. The semi-monthly structure is designed to compress that volatility even further and ensure Strategy can raise capital at a steadier pace throughout the month.

Critics Are Watching, But the Numbers Hold

Not everyone is cheering. Gold advocate Peter Schiff has called STRC “the most obvious Ponzi that has ever existed,” warning of a potential death spiral if Bitcoin prices fall sharply. His argument is that the model depends on Bitcoin appreciation and continued equity issuance to fund dividends.

Strategy addressed some of these fears directly in its Q1 2026 earnings call. The company reported a Q1 net loss of $12.54 billion, largely driven by a drop in Bitcoin’s fair value from roughly $87,500 at year-end 2025 to around $67,800 by March 31. Despite that, management pointed to $2.25 billion in cash reserves sufficient to cover more than two years of dividend obligations across all preferred equity series, even without new issuances.

Saylor also stirred debate when he said Strategy might sell some Bitcoin to cover dividend payments, calling it a way to “inoculate the market.” He later clarified in an interview with Fortune that the remark was a strategic message aimed at short sellers and critics, not a reversal of his long-standing Bitcoin accumulation philosophy.

The broader picture remains striking. Strategy has now raised $11.7 billion in capital year-to-date in 2026. Its Bitcoin per share figure rose 18% year-over-year. And in the first quarter alone, the company added 89,599 BTC to its balance sheet, one of the largest quarterly additions in its history.

With STRC back at par and the dividend vote on the horizon, Strategy’s Bitcoin buying machine looks primed to roar back to life. Whether Saylor delivers another blockbuster acquisition announcement this week or takes a measured approach, one thing is clear: the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder is not done buying. The question was never if, but when. What do you think about Strategy’s STRC model and its impact on the Bitcoin market? Share your thoughts in the comments below.