Strategy Buys Bitcoin Again After a Larger Preferred Buyback

Strategy spent $75.7 million on 950 bitcoin between Sept. 14 and Sept. 20 and $174 million buying back its own preferred stock, a Monday filing shows. Both tickets came out of cash already on the books, and the Tysons Corner, Virginia company sold no new MSTR shares in that window.

Holdings rose to 846,000 bitcoin. That is still 1,363 coins short of the June 22 peak, because the buy button now sits behind a preferred-stock machine that takes its cut first.

The Preferred Buyback Was Larger Than the Bitcoin Ticket

The Form 8-K filed on September 21 is a capital-allocation report, not a stacking manifesto. Strategy paid $79,670 per coin, fees included, and said the bitcoin was funded from USD Cash, the pool it keeps for treasury work rather than for coupons.

In the same seven days it retired 1,771,238 shares of Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, ticker STRC, for $174 million. That is more than twice the bitcoin outlay. A further $57.4 million left the separate USD Reserve to cover preferred dividends and interest on debt. Combined, the week moved $307.1 million.

WHERE THE WEEK’S DOLLARS WENT

USD Cash ended Sept. 20 at $1.05 billion. The USD Reserve, which the board restricts to coupons and interest, stood at $5.04 billion. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor added those two pots and called them $6.09 billion of USD assets.

Holdings Sit 1,363 Coins Short of the June Peak

The new coins lift the stack to 846,000 bitcoin bought for $63.80 billion, a blended $75,416 a coin including fees. At about $85,000, that pile was worth about $71.9 billion, an unrealized gain near $8.1 billion, and just over 4% of bitcoin’s 21 million coin cap.

On June 22 the same company reported 847,363 bitcoin, its high. The gap is 1,363 coins. From the Aug. 10 trough of 840,447 it has added 5,553 coins, first with a 4,603-coin clip reported Aug. 31 and now with 950. The latest ticket is about one-fifth the late-August size, which is what a cash ration looks like once the at-the-market tap is off.

CAPACITY STILL ON THE BOOKS

• USD Cash: $1.05 billion left for bitcoin, buybacks, and other treasury uses.
• USD Reserve: $5.04 billion, reserved for preferred dividends and debt interest.
• STRC program: $875.1 million of preferred repurchase authorization remaining.
• MSTR program: $1.0 billion of common-stock repurchase authorization untouched.

Common stock was not bought back in the window. STRF, STRK, and STRD preferred were not touched either. The only security Strategy retired was STRC, the variable-rate issue it has been supporting for weeks.

Why Cash Went to STRC Before Bitcoin

The ranking is not a mood swing. It is the Digital Credit Capital Framework adopted in June, filed June 29, which turned Strategy from a one-way buyer into a firm that also runs a preferred book.

THE JUNE 29 RULES THAT NOW SET THE PACE

1. June 29, 2026: The board locks a USD Reserve that may be used only for preferred dividends and debt interest, with a 12-month coverage floor. The reserve then stood at $2.55 billion.
2. June 29, 2026: STRC’s regular dividend is lifted to 12.00% a year, $0.50 a share each half-month, and the rate is reviewed monthly against the print, yields, bitcoin, and the balance sheet.
3. June 29, 2026: Two $1.0 billion repurchase programs open, one for digital credit securities with STRC as the first call, one for class A common, neither funded from the USD Reserve.
4. June 29, 2026: A BTC monetization program lets the company sell bitcoin for up to $1.25 billion to fill the reserve, and also to fund coupons or buybacks when that is cheaper than issuing stock.
5. July 27, 2026: Strategy says that while STRC trades below its $100 stated amount, it intends to be a regular buyer of the preferred, subject to markets, law, liquidity, and other capital priorities.

Phong Le, President and Chief Executive Officer, put that July 27 buyback policy on the record when the first $25.0 million of STRC was taken out at about $86.52 a share. The preferred was still under par on Sept. 21, last at $98.78, against a $100 stated amount the company wants it to hug.

This week’s 1,771,238 shares came out at an average $98.24. At the 12.00% annual STRC dividend rate, each retired share drops a $12 yearly coupon, about $21.3 million of dividend load if those shares stay off the market. That is the math that competes with another 950-coin lot.

Strategy has acquired 950 $BTC and repurchased $174M of $STRC. As of 9/20/26, we hold 846,000 BTC and $6.09B of USD Assets.

Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, on X

He followed with credit metrics the company now publishes beside the stack: USD Duration of 3.8 years and STRC BTC Credit of 53 basis points, assuming 10% bitcoin ARR, 40% volatility, and an $81,200 bitcoin price. Those figures are the language of a credit product, not of a firm that only buys and holds.

Summer Sales Took 6,948 Coins Off the Books

The June framework did what it said. Strategy sold bitcoin to build dollars and to fund the STRC bid, then bought some of it back at a higher print. The company’s public bitcoin purchase ledger is the clean record of that round trip.

BITCOIN MOVES FROM THE JUNE PEAK

Count the sales from June 1 as well, a 32-coin clip at $77,135 that started the year, and the summer total is 6,948 bitcoin. Those later sales cleared between $59,256 and $64,262. The two buys that followed printed at $80,318 and $79,670. Strategy is still lighter than it was on June 22, with more dollars on the balance sheet and a preferred issue it keeps bidding for under $100.

The Aug. 31 restock was a different animal. That 4,603-coin lot cost $369.7 million and was paid for with MSTR sold through the at-the-market program, 4,531,421 shares for $602.8 million. This time the ATM printed a zero, so 950 coins is what residual cash could spare after STRC.

Cash on Hand Paid for Both Moves

USD Cash is the new choke point. It funded $174 million of STRC and $75.7 million of bitcoin, and the balance fell to $1.05 billion from $1.30 billion a week earlier, a $250 million draw that matches those two tickets. The reserve dropped only by the $57.4 million of coupons and interest, to $5.04 billion, because that pool is not supposed to buy coins or retire stock.

Saylor’s Monday post treated the two assets as a pair, bitcoin and dollars, which is the point of the June design. The company can still sell bitcoin under the $1.25 billion monetization cap, and it still has $875.1 million of preferred-buyback room if STRC stays cheap to stated value. It also still has a full $1.0 billion MSTR buyback authorization it did not use.

What it did not do is issue stock to juice the bitcoin line. For holders who have watched ATM supply for years, that is the quiet change in the 8-K: the flywheel is on pause, and cash plus the STRC print now decide whether the next 8-K adds three figures of coins or four.

Saylor Floated the Chart a Day Before the Filing

On Sept. 20 he posted a tracker image with the line “A little more orange,” the same tell that preceded the Aug. 31 buy. The 8-K landed the next morning with 950 coins, not another 4,603.

Strategy has acquired 950 $BTC and repurchased $174M of $STRC. As of 9/20/26, we hold 846,000 BTC and $6.09B of USD Assets. $MSTR https://t.co/hP4yLlKlOE

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) September 21, 2026

STRC’s next record date is Sept. 30, with a payout on Oct. 15, so the coupon clock does not stop. As long as the preferred sits under $100, the July policy says Strategy intends to keep buying it. Bitcoin gets what cash remains after that habit, which is why a celebrated purchase can be 950 coins and still leave the treasury 1,363 short of June.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of Strategy Inc.’s public filings, dashboard, and statements, and it is for information only. It is not investment advice, tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold bitcoin, MSTR, STRC, or any other security or digital asset. Readers should consult a licensed financial adviser and, where relevant, a tax professional before making any investment decision. Holdings, prices, authorizations, and cash balances reflect the company’s disclosures for the period through Sept. 20, 2026, as filed on Sept. 21, 2026, and later reports can change those figures.