Michael Saylor: STRC Connects Bitcoin and Stablecoins
Michael Saylor stated that STRC serves as a bridge connecting Bitcoin's "digital capital" with stablecoins' "digital currency"; within the Strategy framework, STRC is formally positioned as "digital credit".
STRC is not a stablecoin and does not directly peg to the US dollar. It is a floating dividend perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy and traded on NASDAQ, with a par value of $100. Strategy attempts to adjust the dividend rate to keep its market price close to par value.
This product is situated in the middle of a three-tier capital structure: the bottom layer consists of highly volatile Bitcoin capital, the middle layer absorbs some volatility and pays returns to holders through STRC-type digital credit, and the top layer is a stable value product composed of digital credit, cash, and liquidity reserves.
Funds raised through STRC can be used by Strategy to purchase Bitcoin; holders do not directly benefit from BTC price increases but accept the credit risk of Strategy, the balance sheet risk of Bitcoin, liquidity risk of preferred stock, and risks associated with the floating dividend policy.
Strategy has incorporated STRC into its digital credit capital framework. The company’s board has authorized the sale of up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin when necessary to fund dollar reserves, preferred stock dividends, interest expenses, and stock buybacks.
In market mechanics, income-focused investors buy STRC to receive monthly cash distributions, while Strategy uses the funds to purchase Bitcoin; if in the future stablecoins or income accounts allocate STRC, stablecoin issuers can pass on credit returns to users. The rise in Bitcoin prices, continuous financing of STRC, and dividend payability create a positive cycle, while a decline in coin prices, pressure to raise dividends, and widening credit spreads may create a reverse cycle.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Strategy's capital path has shifted from "public software companies buying Bitcoin" to a multi-layer digital asset balance sheet. Bitcoin serves as the capital layer that bears high volatility and long-term appreciation expectations, MSTR common stock absorbs residual volatility as the equity layer, while STRC and other preferred stocks provide an entry point for investors seeking yield and lower volatility in the credit layer.
STRC's design draws from the demand for traditional bank preferred stocks and money market funds, but replaces the asset side with a company balance sheet centered on Bitcoin. It was launched in July 2025 with an initial annualized dividend of 9%, later adjusted to about 11.5%; the issuance scale reached approximately $10.5 billion within nine months. High yields are not risk-free interest but rather the market pricing of perpetual, adjustable dividends and indirect Bitcoin risks.
Historically, stablecoin yields primarily came from U.S. Treasury bonds and overnight repo spreads; for example, issuers like USDC and USDT invest reserve assets in short-term dollar assets. Saylor's proposed path is different: stable value products can hold cash reserves to maintain redemption and stability while allocating STRC for higher yields. The result is that traditional risk-free interest yields are replaced by corporate credit and Bitcoin balance sheet yields.
This represents a transfer of pricing power. When Bitcoin holdings are packaged into preferred stocks, income accounts, and stable value tokens, the market no longer prices Bitcoin itself but begins to price the credit layer built around Bitcoin. If Strategy can stabilize the issuance of STRC, it can transfer Bitcoin volatility to common stock and capital buffer layers, and sell the rights to income to a broader fixed-income fund; however, this also means that Bitcoin market risks will enter the originally stable funding pools through credit products.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Volatile assets cannot directly become currency; they must first become credit.
High yields are not a free lunch but a repackaging of risk.
The higher the yield of stablecoins, the more unstable the underlying risk.