Strategy has resumed large-scale bitcoin purchases, acquiring 8,178 BTC for $835.6 million last week in the company's most substantial buy since July. The move marks a significant shift for Michael Saylor's bitcoin treasury company, which had been limited to smaller incremental purchases as its stock price declined sharply.
The acquisition, completed between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, came at an average price of $102,171 per bitcoin. It was financed primarily through Strategy's recently launched euro-denominated preferred stock offering, known as Stream or STRE, which raised approximately $715 million from European investors earlier this month.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, Strategy now holds 649,870 bitcoin acquired for a total of $48.37 billion, at an average purchase price of $74,433 per coin. At current market prices near $95,000, the company's bitcoin holdings are worth approximately $61.7 billion, representing more than 3% of bitcoin's total 21 million supply.
The purchase represents Strategy's largest weekly acquisition since July, when the company was still regularly making substantial buys during bitcoin's climb toward its October peak above $126,000. In recent months, however, the company had been forced to scale back to much smaller purchases as its stock price cratered.
Strategy shares are trading around $199 as of Monday morning, down approximately 56% from their peak and roughly 33% year-to-date. The decline has created a critical constraint: the company's enterprise value now sits barely above the market value of its bitcoin holdings, making common stock issuance dilutive to existing shareholders.
European Financing Strategy Enables Return to Scale
The solution came through Strategy's diversified preferred stock offerings, which allow the company to raise capital without diluting common shareholders. The latest purchase was funded through several classes of perpetual preferred stock, according to the company's Monday filing.
Between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, Strategy sold $131.4 million of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), generating net proceeds of $131.2 million. The company also sold small amounts of its Strife (STRF) and Strike (STRK) preferred shares, raising an additional $4.9 million combined.
The bulk of the funding, however, came from the euro-denominated Stream offering, which closed Nov. 13. Strategy priced 7.75 million shares of the 10% Series A Perpetual Stream Preferred Stock at 80 euros per share, raising approximately 620 million euros, or $715.1 million at the time.
The Stream offering specifically targets professional and institutional investors in the European Economic Area and is listed on the Euro MTF Luxembourg exchange. It pays a 10% annual dividend on a 100 euro stated value, with dividends payable quarterly in cash.
Strategic Shift From Common to Preferred
The pivot to preferred stock represents a significant strategic adjustment for Strategy. Throughout much of 2024 and early 2025, the company funded its bitcoin purchases primarily through common stock offerings and convertible debt, benefiting from a substantial premium that investors were willing to pay for exposure to bitcoin through Strategy shares.
That premium has largely evaporated. The company's multiple to net asset value, or mNAV, has collapsed from over 2.7 last year to approximately 1.06, according to market data. An mNAV below 1.0 would mean the stock trades below the value of its bitcoin holdings after accounting for debt and preferred equity — a threshold several analysts warn could be approaching.
The compression in Strategy's stock valuation reflects multiple headwinds. Bitcoin itself has declined roughly 25% from its October peak above $126,000, creating pressure on all bitcoin-related equities. Meanwhile, the proliferation of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds has given investors alternative ways to gain bitcoin exposure, potentially reducing demand for Strategy's levered approach.
Additionally, questions about the company's capital structure have intensified. Strategy currently has billions in convertible debt outstanding, and some analysts have raised concerns about what happens if the bonds remain out of the money when they mature.
Saylor's Conviction Remains Unshaken
Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has consistently dismissed such concerns. In recent interviews, he emphasized that Strategy's preferred securities and convertible debt are designed to provide permanent or long-term capital, and the company has no intention of selling bitcoin to service these obligations.
"We are buying bitcoin," Saylor told CNBC on Nov. 14, amid market rumors that the company might be forced to liquidate holdings. He added that investors should "zoom out" and recognize that bitcoin has still delivered strong returns despite recent volatility.
Saylor has repeatedly characterized bitcoin as superior to cash, gold, and traditional assets for treasury reserve purposes. Strategy's approach of continuously acquiring bitcoin through varied financing mechanisms — equity, debt, and now multiple classes of preferred stock — reflects his conviction that the cryptocurrency represents "digital capital" that will appreciate over decades.
Final thoughts
The company maintains substantial remaining capacity under its at-the-market offering programs. As of Nov. 16, Strategy can still issue $15.85 billion in common stock, $20.34 billion in Strike preferred stock, $4.04 billion in Stretch preferred stock, and billions more across its other preferred classes.
Whether Strategy can tap these programs effectively depends largely on market conditions. If bitcoin's price rebounds and the stock premium to net asset value expands, the company could return to issuing common shares. For now, preferred stock offerings — particularly those targeting international investors — appear to be the primary vehicle enabling continued accumulation.
Bitcoin was trading around $95,000 Monday morning, down slightly from Friday's close but above weekend lows near $93,000. The cryptocurrency market remains volatile, with the Fear and Greed Index indicating extreme fear among investors.
For Strategy, the path forward involves balancing its bitcoin accumulation goals against the constraints imposed by its current valuation. The successful deployment of $835.6 million last week suggests the company can still execute meaningful purchases despite these challenges — though at nowhere near the scale of its massive common stock offerings earlier in 2024.
As the largest corporate holder of bitcoin globally, Strategy's moves continue to influence both the cryptocurrency and equity markets. Its ability to navigate the current environment while maintaining its treasury strategy will likely shape how other companies approach bitcoin adoption in their own balance sheets.