Strategy Pauses Bitcoin Buying, Spends $205M on STRC Buyback

Strategy did not buy any Bitcoin last week, ending a streak of weekly purchases that began in mid-September. Instead, the company spent $204.9 million repurchasing its STRC variable-rate preferred stock, according to an SEC filing published Monday.

The Bitcoin treasury firm also sold no shares through its at-the-market offering program between October 19 and 25. It still holds 848,517 BTC, acquired for a total of $64.02 billion, or an average of $75,446 per coin.

A larger buyback, a smaller cash pile

The buyback covered 2,068,459 STRC shares and was bigger than the $193.1 million spent a week earlier and the $192.4 million the week before that. Strategy paid for it entirely from its USD Cash balance, the pool it keeps for general purposes, including Bitcoin purchases. That balance fell to $242.4 million from $447.3 million.

The company's separate USD Reserve, meant to cover preferred dividends and interest on its debt, was unchanged at $4.83 billion. After the latest repurchase, $956.8 million remains under its $3 billion preferred buyback program, which it raised from $2 billion a week ago. A separate program to buy back MSTR common stock has $1 billion left.

The pause followed a run of smaller purchases: 267 BTC for $22.1 million the previous week, 250 BTC for $21.5 million before that, and $29 million in the week Strategy posted a $21 billion third-quarter gain.

MSCI decision looms

The change comes as Strategy faces possible removal from MSCI's widely tracked indexes. On October 15, MSCI finalized a rule that treats "non-operating companies," those whose balance sheets are dominated by a single asset, as ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes from the close of November 30. The index provider will publish the list of affected companies on November 11.

Removal would force funds that track those indexes to sell the shares. Chairman Michael Saylor has urged MSCI to drop the rule, which he called "discriminatory."

For investors, the shift shows Strategy prioritizing support for its preferred stock over adding Bitcoin, at least for one week, while keeping ample reserves in place.