Strategy buys 267 Bitcoin as Saylor raises STRC buyback limit to $3 billion

Strategy has acquired another 267 Bitcoin, lifting its total holdings to a record 848,517 BTC, while repurchasing $193 million of STRC preferred stock and raising its digital credit securities buyback authorization to $3 billion. 

According to executive chairman Michael Saylor’s October 19 announcement, the company held approximately $5.3 billion in dollar assets as of October 18.

The latest disclosure follows Saylor’s weekend suggestion that another Bitcoin purchase was approaching, continuing the company’s practice of announcing treasury changes early in the week. It shows Strategy allocating capital to both Bitcoin accumulation and the repurchase of its preferred securities.

The new Bitcoin purchase was smaller than several of Strategy’s acquisitions earlier in the year, although it lifted the company’s reported holdings above their previous high. The larger financial transaction involved STRC, which has become an important part of Strategy’s capital management activities.

Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings reach a new record

Strategy’s latest 267 BTC acquisition increased its holdings from 848,250 BTC on October 11 to 848,517 BTC on October 18. The reported increase matches the number of Bitcoin Saylor said the company purchased during the latest reporting period.

The company now holds approximately 4.04% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins. The percentage is calculated using the latest reported holdings and Bitcoin’s fixed supply limit, which will not be reached until future mining rewards have been issued.

The previous weekly Bitcoin purchase involved 250 BTC acquired for $21.5 million between October 5 and October 11. Strategy’s October 12 company disclosure placed the average purchase price at $86,194 per coin, including fees and expenses.

Of that earlier purchase, approximately $21 million was funded through sales of MSTR common stock, while another $500,000 came from existing dollar cash. The company reported aggregate Bitcoin acquisition costs of approximately $64 billion, corresponding to an average cost of $75,444 per coin.

Saylor’s October 19 statement does not specify the price paid for the new 267 BTC or the funding sources used. Without the latest transaction breakdown, the new aggregate purchase cost and average acquisition price cannot be calculated precisely.

Before Monday’s announcement, crypto.news covered Saylor’s weekend hint, when the company’s latest confirmed balance stood at 848,250 BTC. His subsequent statement identifies the additional coins acquired during the next reporting period.

Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings have continued changing as the company buys, sells and reallocates assets through its treasury operations. Its latest disclosure establishes the updated balance but does not identify the wallets holding the newly acquired coins.

STRC repurchases total another $193 million

Alongside the Bitcoin acquisition, Saylor said Strategy had repurchased approximately $193 million of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, known by the ticker STRC.

The transaction follows $192.4 million in STRC repurchases disclosed on October 12, when the company bought back 1,932,145 preferred shares. Across the two weekly announcements, Strategy reported approximately $385.4 million in repurchases.

Those figures cover two separate reporting periods and should not be interpreted as the company’s total spending on STRC since the program began. Strategy had previously repurchased preferred shares under the same capital management framework.

STRC is a perpetual preferred security with a $100 stated amount per share and a variable dividend rate. Its market price can move below that stated amount, giving Strategy an opportunity to repurchase outstanding shares at a discount.

Under its July STRC repurchase policy, the company said buying discounted shares could reduce future preferred dividend obligations. Management indicated that purchases would depend on the trading price, available liquidity and the capital required for other obligations.

The strategy is different from acquiring Bitcoin because STRC buybacks reduce the amount of preferred stock outstanding. Bitcoin purchases add an asset to the corporate treasury, while preferred stock repurchases affect Strategy’s financing structure and future distribution requirements.

An October analysis of treasury buybacks examined how Bitcoin treasury companies have been allocating funds between cryptocurrency holdings and their own securities. Strategy’s latest announcement continues that pattern, with substantially more money reported for preferred stock repurchases than the separately disclosed Bitcoin quantity.

The October 19 statement did not provide the number of STRC shares repurchased or their average purchase price. The $193 million figure therefore cannot be used to determine how many shares were retired without additional transaction records.

Strategy raises its digital credit repurchase limit to $3 billion

Saylor announced that Strategy had increased the size of its Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program from $2 billion to $3 billion.

The announcement represents a $1 billion expansion in the program’s stated authorization, equivalent to a 50% increase over its previous limit. It does not mean the company completed $3 billion in repurchases or committed to spend the full amount immediately.

Strategy’s digital credit securities include several classes of preferred stock, such as STRC, STRF, STRK and STRD. Each carries different distribution terms and provides investors with a distinct form of exposure to the company’s financing structure.

The company introduced its original digital credit repurchase framework in June, alongside policies governing dollar reserves, preferred dividends and potential Bitcoin sales. The board’s capital management framework allowed Strategy to repurchase eligible securities through market purchases, negotiated transactions and other permitted methods.

Under that framework, the company said discounted repurchases could reduce its preferred dividend requirements. The authorization was not an obligation to purchase a fixed amount of securities, and management retained discretion over the timing and quantity of transactions.

Strategy had expanded the program before the latest announcement, bringing its previous authorization to $2 billion. Saylor’s October 19 statement raises the program’s total stated size to $3 billion, although the remaining unused capacity requires confirmation from the latest company filing.

The company has identified different sources of capital for repurchases, including available cash, equity sales and certain permitted Bitcoin sales. The actual funding arrangement for the latest $193 million purchase was not specified in Saylor’s message.

Dollar assets decline as Strategy adjusts its treasury

Strategy reported approximately $5.3 billion in dollar assets as of October 18, compared with roughly $5.5 billion a week earlier.

The earlier October 12 disclosure separated those holdings into a $4.88 billion dollar reserve and $640.5 million in other dollar cash. Together, those balances totaled approximately $5.52 billion.

The new $5.3 billion figure represents a decrease of approximately $220.5 million compared with the previous unrounded balance. Because Saylor provided the latest amount in rounded form, the precise change cannot be established without the full updated balance sheet.

The dollar reserve is intended to support preferred dividend payments and interest obligations, while other cash can be used for additional treasury purposes. The distinction is important because the company has placed restrictions on using the designated reserve for preferred stock repurchases.

Strategy’s October 12 filing showed that the company could fund Bitcoin purchases through common share sales and existing cash. The October 19 announcement does not identify whether the decline in dollar assets came entirely from STRC repurchases, Bitcoin purchases or other transactions.

The latest stated dollar asset balance remains substantial, although it is smaller than the previous week’s figure. Strategy has not yet provided a verified breakdown of the reserve and unrestricted cash components for October 18 in the materials reviewed.

Saylor updates STRC’s Bitcoin credit assumptions

In a separate October 19 post, Saylor published updated figures from Strategy’s internal credit framework.

He reported a dollar duration of 3.4 years and an STRC Bitcoin Credit measure of 53 basis points, using assumptions that included a 10% annual Bitcoin appreciation rate, 40% Bitcoin volatility and a reference price of $81,468.

The figures come from Strategy’s proprietary credit calculations and should not be confused with an independent rating agency’s assessment. The company’s credit metrics documentation explicitly states that its Bitcoin-related credit measures are illustrative and do not represent conventional credit ratings.

Saylor’s assumptions use a modeled annual return and volatility rather than a guarantee of Bitcoin’s future performance. Changing the reference price or market assumptions can produce different results under the framework.

One week earlier, Strategy had reported a dollar duration of 3.5 years and an STRC Bitcoin Credit measure of 52 basis points, using a Bitcoin reference price of $82,252. The latest stated duration is 0.1 years lower, while the credit measure is one basis point higher.

The company plans to publish its third-quarter 2026 financial results after US financial markets close on October 29. Its October 8 earnings announcement scheduled a video presentation for 5 p.m. Eastern Time that day.