Strategy pauses bitcoin purchases, spends $205M on STRC buybacks

What happened

Strategy did not buy or sell bitcoin in the week through Oct. 25, choosing instead to spend $204.9 million repurchasing shares of its STRC preferred stock, according to a Monday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company bought back 2.07 million STRC shares between Monday and Friday and reported no bitcoin transactions and no sales of stock through its at-the-market offering programme during the period.

Its bitcoin position was therefore unchanged at 848,517 BTC. Those coins were acquired for $64.02 billion, an average cost of $75,446 per bitcoin. With the largest cryptocurrency trading near $79,992 at Monday's US equities open, the holdings sat modestly above their purchase price, as CryptoPotato noted.

The repurchases reduced Strategy's USD cash balance by roughly 46%, to $242.4 million from $447.3 million, Cointelegraph reported. Its stated US dollar reserve was unchanged at $4.83 billion. In a post on X, executive chairman Michael Saylor said the company held 848,517 BTC and $5.1 billion of USD assets as of Oct. 25. Strategy's common stock fell 2.2% to $142.80 in Monday premarket trading, while STRC slipped 0.01% to $99.35, according to Yahoo Finance.

Why it matters

The week marks a pause in a treasury strategy that is closely watched as a proxy for corporate demand for bitcoin. Rather than adding coins, Strategy directed cash toward supporting a preferred instrument that has recently traded at or below its $100 par value. CryptoPotato reported that STRC dipped below $98 last week before recovering to close Friday above $99. The reallocation also coincides with a broader slowdown in accumulation: since Oct. 1 the company has spent about $664 million on STRC repurchases against $72.3 million on 851 BTC, according to Cointelegraph.

What the data shows

Key figures from the disclosures: 848,517 BTC held, acquired for $64.02 billion at an average of $75,446; $204.9 million spent on STRC buybacks covering 2.07 million shares; a USD cash balance of $242.4 million, down from $447.3 million; a USD reserve steady at $4.83 billion; roughly $664 million of October STRC repurchases versus $72.3 million of bitcoin purchases for 851 BTC; MSTR at $142.80 premarket, down 2.2%; and STRC at $99.35.

Background

Strategy returned to buying bitcoin in mid-September, spending more than $140 million in the week ended Sept. 27, CryptoPotato reported. Purchases then slowed, with three consecutive weeks below $30 million each before last week's halt. The pause came as bitcoin retreated toward $80,000 after touching $84,777 on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko data cited by Cointelegraph. Other corporate holders were more active: Strive, led by Matt Cole, completed its largest single bitcoin purchase to date, spending more than $510 million in its biggest weekly acquisition.

What is still unclear

Strategy's communications offered slightly different pictures of its dollar holdings. Saylor's post referred to $5.1 billion of USD assets, while filing-based reporting cited a $4.83 billion US dollar reserve plus a $242.4 million cash balance. The reports did not reconcile the two measures, and it is not clear from them how the company defines each category.

What to watch

Investors will watch whether Strategy resumes bitcoin purchases in the coming weeks or keeps directing cash toward STRC. The preferred stock's trading relative to its $100 par value, and bitcoin's movement around the $80,000 level, are likely to shape that decision.

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