Grayscale Research Head Zach Pandl has put Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury under fresh review. His comments focus on whether a larger BTC sale could ease investor concern better than another increase in STRC dividends.
Summary
- Pandl says a larger Bitcoin sale could clear doubts around Strategy’s cash obligations and dividends.
- STRC trading below $100 keeps pressure on Strategy’s preferred stock model and future funding choices.
- Crypto.news reports tied Strategy’s small BTC sale to wider concerns about leverage and liquidity risk.
Pandl said Strategy raising the STRC dividend by 50 basis points next week would add about $100 million in dividend obligations over the next two years. He said that move “would likely not restore market confidence” because it would not remove the question around future cash needs.
He argued that selling more than $3 billion in BTC could be more effective. In his view, such a sale could cover nearly all cash obligations over the next two years and give investors a clearer view of how Strategy plans to manage its preferred stock costs.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder. The company built its public market identity around buying and holding BTC, while using equity, debt and preferred shares to fund the strategy.
STRC keeps pressure on the treasury model
The debate centers on STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate preferred stock. The company designed the product to trade near $100, and it currently pays an 11.5% annual dividend. Still, STRC has traded below its target level during recent market stress.
As crypto.news reported earlier, Strategy sold 32 BTC for about $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31. The sale was small compared with its Bitcoin treasury, but it drew attention because it was the company’s first reported BTC sale since December 2022.
That sale also changed how investors view the company’s funding model. Strategy had long acted as a steady Bitcoin buyer. Even a small sale raised doubts about whether the firm may need to sell more BTC if preferred stock costs keep rising.
Crypto.news also reported that STRC later fell as low as $82.50, while its effective yield moved near 13.2%. A higher yield can show that investors want more return to hold the stock.
Cash runway becomes the key question
CryptoQuant has estimated that Strategy’s annualized dividend obligations tied to STRC reached about $1.2 billion. The firm also estimated that dividend coverage fell to roughly 14 months as cash reserves declined during 2026.
Those figures explain why Pandl’s $3 billion sale idea has attracted attention. A planned BTC sale could raise cash before pressure grows. It could also show that Strategy can meet fixed obligations without depending only on new share sales or a higher Bitcoin price.
Recent market reports said Strategy later bought 520 BTC for about $34.9 million, bringing total holdings to 847,363 BTC. The company also raised cash reserves by about $300 million, which showed it had not stopped using capital markets to support both Bitcoin holdings and dividend needs.
For investors, the next focus is STRC’s price against the $100 level. If the preferred stock stays below that mark, Strategy may face more pressure to adjust payouts, raise cash or sell Bitcoin in a more planned way.
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