Strategy to Push Preferred Stock to Boost Bitcoin Buys: CEO

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy will further lean on its preferred stock sales to acquire Bitcoin, shifting from its strategy of selling common stock, says CEO Phong Le.

“We will start to transition from equity capital to preferred capital,” Le told Bloomberg’s “The Close” on Wednesday.

Stretch (STRC) is Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, launched in July, and is aimed at buyers looking for stability by offering an annual dividend of over 11%. 

STRC is the company’s fourth perpetual preferred offering, launched to finance its Bitcoin (BTC) purchases. It’s an alternative to issuing new shares that dilute its stock price.

Le admitted that its preferred stock will “take some seasoning” and marketing to pitch traders on the offering, but added that “throughout the course of this year, we expect Stretch to be a big product for us.”

Strategy could restart offerings as STRC hits $100

STRC reclaimed its par value of $100 at the close of trading on Wednesday for the first time since mid-January, which Le said was the “story of the day.”

The stock had dipped below $94 earlier this month as Bitcoin crashed under $60,000, but with it now trading at par — the price Strategy has designated as its minimum — the company could again offer shares to fund more Bitcoin purchases.

Bitcoin has traded mostly flat over the last 24 hours at around $66,800, down from an intraday high of over $68,000.

Buying Bitcoin treasury rivals a “distraction”

Analysts have warned that the crypto treasury space is becoming crowded as companies compete for a small segment of traders, leading to some companies’ crypto holdings being worth more than the companies themselves.

Related: Saylor’s Strategy buys $90M in Bitcoin as price trades below cost basis

In that case, some analysts said that rival treasury firms could move to acquire underperforming companies to scoop up Bitcoin on the cheap, but Le said Strategy isn’t interested in making such a move.