New York, March 4, 2026, 10:36 EST — Regular session.
- Strategy (MSTR) climbed roughly 11% during morning hours, moving up alongside bitcoin’s rally.
- The latest SEC filing shows another bitcoin buy, this time paid for with proceeds from stock sales.
- Traders are factoring in dilution, along with what Strategy will have to shell out for its preferred-share payments.
Strategy Inc shot up around 11%, landing at $147.39 by mid-morning Wednesday. Bitcoin rallied 7.6% to $72,743, sending crypto-tied stocks higher.
This shift is significant: Strategy stands out as one of the most direct bitcoin plays available on Wall Street. After rebranding from MicroStrategy and diving headfirst into bitcoin ownership back in 2020, the company’s stock has been moving in lockstep with the token’s price.
Strategy disclosed in a Monday filing that it scooped up 3,015 bitcoin for $204.1 million over the stretch from Feb. 23 to March 1, paying roughly $67,700 each. The haul brings its total cache to 720,737 bitcoin, with the average cost per coin now at $75,985. To fund the latest purchase, Strategy tapped $237.1 million in net proceeds from selling 1,730,563 common shares and 71,590 STRC preferred shares through its at-the-market program. The company bumped up the regular STRC dividend to 11.50% from 11.25% and declared preferred dividends payable March 31 to holders on record as of March 15. Strategy expects those payouts will qualify as a return of capital for U.S. tax purposes, up to each holder’s basis.
At-the-market programs give companies a way to drip shares into the open market in small batches. For Strategy, this has turned into the machinery behind its steady bitcoin purchases — and it’s a regular concern for investors who keep a close eye on dilution risk.
The changes to the preferred stock are important, too. One “basis point” equals 0.01%, so STRC’s move jumps by 25 basis points. If a “return of capital” distribution is triggered, it usually lowers an investor’s cost basis instead of counting as a dividend from earnings.
Coinbase shares jumped roughly 14% to $207.89. Riot Platforms, tied to bitcoin mining, advanced 9.9%. Marathon Digital tacked on 6.4%.
Strategy cuts both ways, and quickly. Bitcoin slips, the stock tends to tumble even more. Heavy dependence on equity issuance and those pricey preferred dividends only piles on the pressure if the market tightens up.
Strategy chalked up a larger quarterly loss last month, pointing the finger at volatility in digital assets and outlining plans for a reserve aimed at backing dividends. Speaking to investors at the time, executive chairman Michael Saylor said, “The actions by big finance, the actions by the big banks and the actions by the financial regulators are the fundamentals.” Reuters
Traders are zeroed in on two things now: bitcoin’s grip on its latest rally, and how hard Strategy leans into those equity programs. March 15 is circled — the cut-off for preferred payouts. That’s before the payment hits on March 31.
