TYSONS CORNER, Virginia, May 5, 2026, 10:10 EDT
Strategy Inc skipped purchasing bitcoin last week, pausing the steady buying streak that’s been under the microscope. This comes right ahead of its first-quarter earnings. The company had picked up over 100,000 tokens across the last three months, swelling its holdings.
The company—previously known as MicroStrategy—said in a May 4 filing it didn’t purchase any bitcoin between April 27 and May 3, keeping its stash at 818,334 coins bought at an average cost of $75,537. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor chimed in too: “No buys this week. Back to work next week.”
The pause is notable: Strategy now stands as the largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin. From early February to late April, the company snapped up 103,690 bitcoins, shelling out over $7.5 billion—that’s roughly 0.5% of bitcoin’s capped 21 million supply, according to The Motley Fool in a piece published on Yahoo Finance.
The move lands right before Strategy’s scheduled first-quarter report, which comes out after U.S. markets close Tuesday, followed by a 5 p.m. Eastern webinar. That timing drops the pause right as investors will be combing for clues about any slowdown in its capital-raising engine.
Strategy managed to bring in fresh funds, according to the May 4 filing. The company moved 492,210 Class A shares via its at-the-market, or ATM, program—an arrangement for selling shares gradually on the open market—collecting $82 million net. No sales reported for preferred shares STRF, STRC, STRK, or STRD that week.
Just a week back, the company picked up 3,273 bitcoin—paid $255 million for the lot, averaging $77,906 apiece. The purchase used proceeds from selling Class A common stock. That buy pushed its bitcoin stash to 818,334, with a total spend of $61.81 billion.
TheStreet pointed to compliance issues, not market forces, as the likely reason for the pause, referencing rules that limit public companies from trading on material nonpublic information—news that could move the market ahead of earnings. Still, Strategy hasn’t confirmed the blackout was behind the move.
The gulf remains substantial. BitcoinTreasuries.net puts Strategy out front among public companies, holding 818,334 bitcoin. Next comes Twenty One Capital, far behind with 43,514, followed by Metaplanet’s 40,177 and MARA Holdings at 38,689.
Strategy shares climbed to $187.60, gaining around 2.1%. Bitcoin changed hands near $81,272, up roughly 3.5%. These days, the stock behaves less like your standard software play and more as a leveraged bet on bitcoin itself, with earnings set to show the impact of both its core business and swings in the token’s value.
STRC is at the heart of the funding discussion—Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, which, according to the company, carries an 11.50% annual dividend paid out monthly in cash. That rate is designed to keep trading close to the $100 par value. Strategy also points out there’s no guarantee dividends will be paid, and holders shouldn’t expect any collateral backing from the firm’s bitcoin stash.
Back in March, K33’s Head of Research Vetle Lunde argued the STRC model tends to hold up in robust markets, but that relies on STRC staying close to $100 and MSTR trading above its net asset value. Direct spot bitcoin? According to Lunde, it comes with “fewer dependencies and less structural complexity.” Contentful
Benchmark’s Mark Palmer isn’t buying the criticism. In CoinMarketCap’s recap of his report, Palmer called the model “deliberate and durable” and argued it channels investor appetite for yield straight into long-term bitcoin positions. CoinMarketCap
The risk stands out—if bitcoin tumbles, Strategy’s stock drops, and STRC sits under par for a while, the company’s pipeline for cheap, equity-style financing could tighten up. That alone wouldn’t mean an instant bitcoin sale, but it would raise the stakes for the following “back to work” week more than before.
