Strategy skips another purchase week and leans into bonds

Strategy skipped another week of buying BTC, instead rebalancing its reserves with bonds. The playbook change arrived just a week after a peak five-digit BTC purchase.

Strategy skipped another week of purchasing BTC, while Executive Chairman Michael Saylor warning the company will instead dedicate resources to a bond purchase. Saylor stated the ‘BitVac’, short for BTC vacuum, will be changing away from the usual weekly purchases.

The company has held up to $2.5B in cash reserves. The bonds in question refer to a repurchase of older Strategy debt, namely $1.5B in debt due in 2029. This time, Strategy did not outline the financing source of its repurchase operations.

The BTC purchase delay may also be due to the US market holiday. The biggest investor fear is that Strategy may have sold some of its BTC to finance debt repurchases, making its playbook unstable.

The company will still be liable to pay STRC dividends of 11.5%, soon to become bi-weekly. Additional dividends are owed for older issuance of preferred shares STRD and STRK, which have not been used for months as a source of BTC purchases.

Strategy sold no STRC for the past week

The market anticipated this week’s pause in BTC purchases, as there were no data on STRC trading in the suitable price range for additional sales.

After a week of $2.2M in total new sales, STRC buyers also hit a pause, on a mix of skepticism and the longer waiting period until the ex-dividend date in June. In the past two months, Strategy fell into a pattern of large purchases ahead of the dividend cut-off date, followed by smaller weekly additions financed by MSTR ATM selling.

This time, Strategy did not use its common stock issuance facility, instead focusing on its cash-like reserves. MSTR fell to $159.89, down from its recent hike above $170. The BTC purchasing pause coincided with a generally lowered demand for MSTR, as the common stock does not act as a multiplier for BTC gains.

Strategy changed its playbook after buying over 4% of the total BTC supply. For now, the company remains a strong holder, though it does not try to add BTC at any rate.

Is Strategy losing its credibility? 

The biggest fear around Strategy is that its demand structure reflects the dwindling crypto sentiment. The market is no longer in ‘up only’ mode, even for BTC. As a result, only STRC is attractive for its high monthly payouts.

However, Strategy carries a growing dividend burden, sparking fears the company may not be sustainable, especially during a prolonged crypto bear market.

STRC will have to show stronger demand, predicted during the week ahead of June 15. Until then, skeptics have noted Strategy may gain only up to 5% in yield on more conservative bonds, while owing 11.5% for STRC.

After the week of no purchases, BTC traded at $77,216, sitting just above Strategy’s average price. Selling or stagnant demand may further undermine the trust in Strategy’s playbook, without other factors sparking a BTC bull market.

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