Strategy is buying Bitcoin again. The company disclosed in a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 21 that it acquired 950 BTC between Sept. 14 and Sept. 20, ending a two-week pause in purchases and bringing its holdings back to 846,000 BTC.
The purchase cost 75.7 million USD at an average price of 79,670 USD per coin, including fees and expenses. The same week, Strategy spent another 174 million USD repurchasing approximately 1.77 million shares of its STRC preferred stock — more than twice what it paid for Bitcoin.
The numbers behind the return
The acquisition restores Strategy’s treasury to 846,000 BTC, the same total it reported at the end of the second quarter before Bitcoin sales during July and August reduced the balance. Across its entire history, the company has now acquired 846,000 BTC for a total of 63.80 billion USD, an average cost of 75,416 USD per Bitcoin.
With Bitcoin trading near 84,925 USD at the time of the filing’s publication, the market value of Strategy’s holdings stood at roughly 71.85 billion USD — an unrealized gain of approximately 8.05 billion USD over the reported cost basis. Strategy shares gained 7.4 percent to 165.20 USD in Monday premarket trading as Bitcoin held above the price paid for the latest acquisition.
How the pause unfolded
Strategy last bought Bitcoin at the end of August, when it purchased 4,603 BTC for 369.7 million USD at an average price of 80,318 USD, raising holdings from 840,447 BTC to 845,050 BTC. That purchase was financed through the company’s at-the-market common stock program: Strategy sold 4.53 million MSTR shares for 602.8 million USD in net proceeds, allocating 369.7 million USD to Bitcoin and 151.8 million USD to STRC repurchases.
Buying then stopped for two consecutive reporting periods as Strategy redirected cash toward its preferred securities. During the first week of the pause, the company spent 176.3 million USD repurchasing 1.81 million STRC shares while its board doubled the Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program from 1 billion USD to 2 billion USD. Another 139.3 million USD went to 1.42 million STRC shares the following period, with no Bitcoin bought and no ATM sales.
STRC buybacks remain the bigger line item
Even with Bitcoin accumulation restarted, STRC repurchases stayed the larger expense. Strategy spent 174 million USD on roughly 1.77 million STRC shares between Sept. 14 and Sept. 20, against 75.7 million USD for Bitcoin.
STRC, formally Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, has a stated amount of 100 USD per share. The company has used repurchases and dividend policy to keep the security trading near that level after it fell to around 70 USD earlier this year. STRC recovered above 99 USD in intraday trading earlier this month and was changing hands at 98.85 USD in Monday premarket, up 0.35 percent.
The buyback math is deliberate: purchases below the 100 USD stated amount let Strategy retire preferred securities for less than their face value while cutting future dividend requirements. Between July 20 and Sept. 13, the company spent roughly 950.8 million USD repurchasing nearly 9.96 million STRC shares, and Monday’s repurchases pushed cumulative spending past 1 billion USD since the current sequence began. Strategy retains 875.1 million USD in authorization for further preferred repurchases, while its separate 1 billion USD MSTR common stock buyback program remains untouched.
Cash-funded, no share issuance
The latest transactions were funded directly from Strategy’s cash balance. The company made no sales through its ATM offering programs during the reporting period, meaning it did not issue common or preferred shares to replenish spending. Combined outlays for Bitcoin and STRC totaled 249.7 million USD.
Deployable USD Cash fell to 1.05 billion USD as of Sept. 20, down nearly 20 percent from 1.30 billion USD a week earlier. The balance had stood at 1.44 billion USD on Sept. 7 and 1.61 billion USD at the end of August as repeated STRC repurchases drew down the account. Strategy maintains USD Cash separately from its USD Reserve, which is primarily intended to cover preferred stock dividends and debt interest; the reserve declined to 5.04 billion USD from 5.10 billion USD after 57.4 million USD in dividend and interest payments. Combined USD assets stood at approximately 6.09 billion USD.
Strive keeps stacking too
Strategy was not the only public Bitcoin holder disclosing purchases on Monday. Strive acquired 1,355 BTC, increasing its corporate treasury to 26,355 BTC. The company had reached 25,000 BTC earlier in September after buying 469 BTC for approximately 36.6 million USD at an average price of 77,954 USD per coin, funded through proceeds from its SATA preferred stock. Strive had previously purchased 1,800 BTC in an earlier tranche.
What it means for Bitcoin markets
Strategy’s return to the market matters beyond its own balance sheet. The company remains the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin by a wide margin, and its buying cadence has historically functioned as a steady demand source — particularly when funded through ATM equity issuance, which converts stock market inflows directly into Bitcoin purchases.
This time the signal is different, and arguably healthier: the 950 BTC purchase was paid entirely from cash, with no dilution of shareholders. With Bitcoin trading around 85,756 USD at the time of writing, up 5.7 percent on the day according to CoinGecko, Strategy’s newest coins are already in profit — and the market will be watching whether next week’s filing shows the buying machine fully back on.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
950 BTC looks tiny next to the 4,603 they bought at end of August. Still, 79,670 average with BTC around 84,925 means this tranche is green from day one.
The real headline is the STRC buyback eating more cash than Bitcoin again. 174M on preferred vs 75.7M on BTC tells you exactly where the balance sheet pressure sits.
or it means they think STRC is trading below fair value, which is somehow scarier. capital allocation by vibes
tranches keep shrinking as the average climbs. they guard that 75,416 cost basis like a museum piece
75,416 average guarded like a museum piece while paying 79,670. they only average up when the tape forces it
or when STRC outflows force a treasury refill. the buyback and the btc buy are one balance sheet decision now
they have to guard it, the whole preferred stack prices off that basis number. average slips and the STRC machine gets that much harder to sell
846,000 BTC, right back where the treasury stood at end of Q2. All those July and August sales basically unwound in one filing.
unwound in one filing is generous. they sold in july and august and rebought near 85k, that round trip cost real basis points for nothing
the july and august sales were forced by the preferred redemption wall tho, not a view on price. rebuying at 79,670 was probably the plan all along
8.05 billion USD in unrealized gains on a 75,416 average cost and people still call this a leveraged meme stock. The 7.4 percent premarket pop says the market disagrees.
8.05B unrealized on a 75,416 average and now they are averaging up at 79,670. buying above your own cost basis, conviction is real
950 btc for 75.7M but 174M on the STRC buyback. the preferred stock is the real trade now lol
makes sense though. if STRC was trading below where the math says it should, buying your own discount beats buying spot at 84k
Marcel Oud has it right. buying STRC at a discount below its BTC backing mathematically beats paying spot 84k. Saylor arbitraging his own balance sheet
buying STRC below NAV is just buying btc at a discount with extra paperwork. the 174M makes complete sense
the math works until the discount keeps widening while you defend it. buying below btc backing is still the value trap problem with extra steps, saylor is not immune to that
174M on STRC vs 75.7M on actual bitcoin says where they think trapped value is. the preferreds are the product now, BTC is the marketing
846,000 btc at avg cost 75,416 with btc near 84,925. the unrealized profit just sitting there is absurd
two week pause then straight back in. breathing machine on
950 btc is a rounding error next to 846k held. the filing matters as signal, pause over and they still want coins above cost
846,000 BTC again but the cost line keeps climbing toward that 79,670 average. holdings flat while basis grows is the chart nobody at strategy wants on the investor deck
846k for 63.8 billion total and 79,670 paid this round. the basis creep is real and nobody seems to be discounting it
174M on STRC vs 75.7M on BTC. saylor is running a closed-end fund arbitrage on his own shareholders and the market is applauding it
950 btc is pocket change but the signal matters. they averaged up at 79,670 with the tape near 84k, means the pause was capacity not conviction