New York, Feb 14, 2026, 10:32 EST — Market closed
Shares of Strategy Inc (MSTR) surged 8.85% Friday, finishing at $133.88 after bouncing around in a range from $125.76 to $135.25. Volume was hefty, with roughly 24.6 million shares traded.
This shift carries weight—Strategy now acts as a proxy for bitcoin on U.S. equities screens, and there’s a pause ahead: markets shut for Presidents Day on Monday. Next trade? Tuesday.
Bitcoin surged close to 5% late Friday, after January U.S. inflation numbers landed just below forecasts, Reuters reported. That’s giving traders some optimism about possible rate cuts ahead. “A bit of good news as we head into the long holiday weekend,” said Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion. Reuters
Bitcoin traded near $69,877 on Saturday, showing a 1.4% gain from the previous close, market data showed.
Strategy, which rebranded from MicroStrategy to Strategy Inc last year, has positioned itself as both a bitcoin-heavy treasury play and a provider of enterprise analytics software. Shares typically amplify bitcoin’s moves, up or down.
The company put out a free writing prospectus on Friday for its “STRC” preferred stock, laying out an 11.25% annualized dividend for February and a monthly cash distribution. According to the SEC filing, the preferred is meant to hover close to $100 per share, with monthly tweaks to the dividend rate to keep it there. Investors on record as of Feb. 15 are set to receive their payout on Feb. 28. Contentstack
Shares tied to crypto tracked the token’s rally Friday. Coinbase jumped 16%, Robinhood notched a 6.8% increase, and Strategy was up roughly 8.9%, according to Barron’s.
The mood remains weak. Bitcoin’s price has dropped almost 50% since its October 6 high, and U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have bled outflows—$7 billion in November, $2 billion in December, over $3 billion in January, according to Reuters. Coinbase summed it up in its shareholder letter: “Crypto is cyclical, and experience tells us it’s never as good, or as bad as it seems.” Strategy’s equity beta, for better or worse, moves with it. Reuters
Tuesday morning brings U.S. January retail sales and the Empire State manufacturing survey, numbers that have the potential to move rate expectations and show up in bitcoin’s price action.
Strategy’s next signal comes down to two things: does bitcoin stay put around these prices during the slow holiday period, and will any new disclosures—financing details or bitcoin purchases—land ahead of the Feb. 17 open?
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