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ZEC $1,334 Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, builds its Bitcoin treasury playbook
Strategy turned from software firm to Bitcoin treasury company, funding purchases with convertible debt and preferred stock.
Key takeaways
- It started with $250 million. Strategy's first Bitcoin purchase was $250 million, made as a hedge against inflation.
- The funding plan was large. Strategy announced plans in October 2024 to raise up to $42 billion.
- One preferred stock slipped. STRC fell below its $100 par value in June 2026, cutting off a funding route.
What happened
Strategy began as a business intelligence software company. Michael Saylor founded it in 1989, and it listed on the NASDAQ in 1998 under the ticker MSTR. Two years later, Saylor and two other executives settled an SEC case that alleged the company had overstated software and information services revenue.
In 2020 the company made Bitcoin its primary treasury reserve asset. Saylor led a first purchase of $250 million in Bitcoin, which the company described as a hedge against inflation and dollar devaluation. The company operated as MicroStrategy until February 2025, when it dropped "Micro" from its name.
Strategy then built a funding machine. It raised short-term debt through convertible notes and used the proceeds to buy Bitcoin. It also launched preferred stock offerings: Strike (STRK), Stretch (STRC), Stride (STRD), Strife (STRF) and Stream (STRE).
First $84.4KLatest $83.5K-1.1% over the period
Points are daily observations, not closing prices.
Why it matters
Strategy's approach made it a model for other public companies. MARA, Metaplanet and Riot Platforms adopted the same playbook of raising capital to buy Bitcoin. That gives the asset a set of corporate buyers whose purchases do not depend on short-term price moves, according to JAN3 CEO Samson Mow, who said treasury companies act as Bitcoin's buyer of last resort.
The model also carries risk. When STRC fell below its $100 par value in June 2026, analysts called it a structural crack in the flywheel. The longer it traded below par, the more likely Strategy would have to choose between issuing new shares and selling Bitcoin to keep paying its dividend. STRC's slide cut off a funding route the company had used to buy Bitcoin.
Mow said Strategy and other treasury companies are massively undervalued right now. He also said the best time to launch a Bitcoin treasury company or Bitcoin bond is when the price is low. Those are his views, not a forecast.
What is still unclear
- The reports do not say how much Bitcoin Strategy holds, what its shares trade at, or how it will replace the funding that STRC once provided.
- The reports do not give the outcome of the SEC case beyond the settlement, or the size of any penalty.
Questions readers ask
What is Strategy (MSTR)?
Strategy is a software company founded in 1989 by Michael Saylor that went public as MSTR in 1998. Since 2020 it has held Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset.
When did MicroStrategy become Strategy?
The company dropped "Micro" from its name in February 2025.
How did Strategy pay for its Bitcoin?
It raised short-term debt through convertible notes and used the proceeds to buy Bitcoin. It later sold preferred stock offerings including STRK and STRC.
What happened to Strategy's STRC preferred stock?
STRC fell below its $100 par value in June 2026. Analysts called it a structural crack, and the slide cut off a funding route the company had used to buy Bitcoin.
