Saylor's STRC Cushion Goes From Seven-Year Mattress to 14-Month Nap 💤

CryptoQuant is urging Michael Saylor's Strategy to halt bitcoin purchases, rebuild its depleted cash reserves and adopt a more disciplined accumulation schedule, according to a Wednesday report shared with CoinDesk. The onchain analytics firm said Strategy has overextended itself by buying BTC at cycle tops, leaving the company with a $10.6 billion unrealized loss and a preferred stock trading at record discounts to par.

Strategy's flagship preferred share, STRC, fell to about $82.50 last week, 17.5% below its $100 par value and the deepest discount since issuance. The stock currently yields 11.5%. CryptoQuant attributed the slide to a collision between bitcoin's correction and a fast-shrinking cash buffer, noting that Strategy's U.S. dollar reserve has dropped 38% since the start of 2026 while annual dividend obligations have nearly quadrupled to $1.2 billion. Dividend coverage, the metric estimating how long reserves can service payouts, has compressed from more than seven years to roughly 14 months.

The drain accelerated in May, when Strategy spent $1.5 billion to repurchase its convertible notes, further depleting the buffer behind STRC. As the company expanded STRC issuance to fund bitcoin acquisitions, dividend liabilities ballooned from about $300 million at the start of 2026 to $1.2 billion by mid-June, a near fourfold increase in under six months. Strategy reported a $1.1 billion reserve in mid-June, well below the approximately $2.8 billion, or 24 months of coverage, that CryptoQuant said STRC would need to recover its footing.

CryptoQuant also warned that Strategy's bitcoin holdings offer less of a backstop than their size implies. "The company sits on a $10.6 billion unrealized loss, with all Bitcoin purchased in 2024, 2025, and 2026 underwater," the report said, adding that any forced BTC sale at current prices would crystallize large losses and destroy shareholder value. Strategy reported a $1.1 billion reserve in mid-June, against an estimated $2.8 billion target for recovery.

Bitcoin was trading at $62,662.58 at the time of writing. Strategy (MSTR) has not publicly responded to the report.