NEW YORK, April 22, 2026, 09:15 EDT
- Strategy disclosed snapping up 34,164 bitcoin last week through April 19, shelling out $2.54 billion and lifting its stash to 815,061 bitcoin. The firm’s average price on those holdings now stands at $75,527.
- TipRanks and TradingKey flagged a fresh buy put strategy before BlackRock’s IBIT revealed its bitcoin holdings. Capital Group’s American Funds Fundamental Investors, meanwhile, picked up 4.32 million additional shares.
- Strategy wants the green light to issue STRC dividends every two weeks, arguing that more frequent payouts might help with both liquidity and price stability.
Strategy—previously known as MicroStrategy—has once more outperformed bitcoin this month, following a $2.54 billion buy and a wave of renewed institutional interest that’s put it back in the spotlight as a stock-market stand-in for the cryptocurrency. Heading into Wednesday’s session, shares were set to open about 4% down, but the stock had already rallied close to 37% in April as of Monday’s close. Bitcoin, for its part, was trading north of $78,000.
The rebound is key: Strategy still relies on raising cash for bitcoin buys by issuing stock and preferred shares. According to TradingKey, Strategy’s mNAV—the market-to-net-asset value gauge that tracks the premium over its bitcoin stash—has tightened considerably from its highs earlier in 2024. That puts a bigger spotlight on share price rallies, which now play an outsized role in the company’s funding approach.
Strategy disclosed in an April 20 filing that it unloaded about $2.54 billion in securities during the week ending April 19. The sales included 21.8 million STRC preferred shares plus another 2.17 million common shares. With those proceeds, the firm picked up 34,164 bitcoin, paying an average of $74,395 per coin. That brings its stash to 815,061 bitcoin, acquired for a total of $61.56 billion—or $75,527 apiece on average.
Capital Group’s American Funds Fundamental Investors picked up 4.32 million Strategy shares for around $747 million, lifting its total to 10.33 million shares, according to TipRanks. Both TipRanks and TradingKey noted that with this latest buy, Strategy now holds more coins than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by raw count.
Some of the stock’s recent outperformance appears driven by technical factors, not just fundamentals. According to MarketWatch, Strategy has gained about 33% since the Iran conflict began, outpacing bitcoin’s 20%, as hedge funds closed out paired trades in gold, bitcoin, and Strategy. Stephen Coltman, macro chief at 21Shares, puts short interest at 11%, a level he calls “not particularly elevated.” MarketWatch
Coltman notes that the old basis trade—a classic hedge-fund move, long bitcoin against a short on Strategy—thrived back when Strategy’s shares carried a hefty premium and the firm could tap new equity to snap up more bitcoin. As that premium’s narrowed, though, Strategy has shifted toward using preferred securities. Now the company is pushing to make one of those prefs simpler to own.
Strategy wants shareholders to sign off on a shift to semi-monthly dividends for its STRC preferred, moving away from monthly distributions. The company argues this tweak could cut down on reinvestment lag, help liquidity, and support steadier prices. “Stabilize price” and “grow demand,” Michael Saylor said of the plan. CEO Phong Le pitched the move as making the security “two times better” for investors, with payouts now split in half across the month. Strategy
The setup, though, is still exposed to shifts in market sentiment. In its annual report, Strategy pointed to a $2.25 billion U.S. dollar reserve set aside to cover both preferred dividends and debt interest. But the company flagged a key caveat: keeping that reserve depends on the markets and the ability to raise equity at the right moment. Another wrinkle—Delaware law could block it from paying preferred dividends in cash, even if the reserve holds up, if there’s not enough surplus or profits available.
According to BlackRock, IBIT is a spot bitcoin ETF designed to mirror bitcoin’s price directly, setting itself apart from Strategy, which blends coin holdings with capital-market leverage. At 8:59 a.m. EDT, bitcoin traded near $78,331, higher by about 3%, while Strategy shares were signaling a 4% slide to $163.97 before the Nasdaq bell. That price keeps the token just a touch above Strategy’s average cost basis.
