On October 26, Eastern Time, Strategy (MSTR) filed an 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming no Bitcoin purchases or sales occurred between October 19 and 25, nor any securities sold under its ATM program. Instead, the company used $204.9 million in cash to repurchase 2,068,459 shares of STRC preferred stock. On the same day, Strive (ASST) disclosed that between October 17 and 23, it acquired 6,182 Bitcoins at an average price of approximately $82,732, increasing its holdings to 43,000 BTC, with a weekly investment of about $511 million. In the same week, two leading Bitcoin treasury firms took opposite directions.

Where Did Strategy’s Money Go?

As of October 25, Strategy held 848,517 Bitcoins, with a total cost basis of $64.02 billion, averaging about $75,446 per coin. According to The Block's estimates, the market value of this Bitcoin reserve is approximately $67.9 billion, generating unrealized gains nearing $3.9 billion.

Strategy had been buying Bitcoin for five consecutive weeks prior, but at minimal scale. According to CryptoTicker, Strategy repurchased STRC worth around $664 million since October, while spending only $72.3 million on Bitcoin acquisition. The capital allocation was already tilted—this week merely zeroed out the Bitcoin buying side.

The average repurchase price this week was approximately $99.06, close to STRC’s closing price of $99.36 on October 23, just $0.64 below par. When the buyback program began in July, the average transaction price was $86.52. With the discount now less than 1%, even factoring in "discount cancellation and savings on 12% dividends," the cost-benefit of the repurchase has significantly narrowed.

Strategy’s rationale for continuing repurchases lies in par value. The company’s policy dictates that it will not issue new STRC shares as long as the price remains below $100, effectively propping up the share price toward par—laying the groundwork for future preferred equity financing. As of October 25, $956.8 million remained under the digital credit securities repurchase program; dedicated USD reserves for dividend and interest payments totaled $4.83 billion, leaving only $242.4 million in freely deployable cash.

Equity financing via common stock is also challenging. On October 15, MSCI introduced new criteria excluding “non-operating companies” from global investable market indices. Strategy was flagged in a May simulation. The affected list will be published on November 11 and take effect after the close on November 30. Last week, MSTR dropped 6.9%, closing at $146.02.

Strive Exchanged 15% Coupon for Bitcoin

Strive’s recent accumulation was funded by a newly completed preferred equity offering. On October 20, it issued 7 million shares of perpetual preferred stock SATS at $90 per share, raising approximately $630 million. SATS pays a fixed 15% annual dividend based on a $100 par value, yielding about 16.7% annually based on the issuance price.

In the same week, Strive’s Class A common shares increased by approximately 3.27 million, and its cash and equivalents rose from $317.5 million to $504.4 million. It also established a new $1 billion SATS secondary issuance program.

The cost of this capital is substantial. At an average purchase price of $82,732 per Bitcoin, Strive paid above the Bitcoin price, which dipped below $80,000 on October 26.

Strive still holds 505,000 shares of STRC, with a fair value of $50.18 million—up by about $830,000 in a week. Every dollar Strategy spends to support STRC’s price simultaneously boosts its competitor’s book value. Both firms are competing for the same pool of yield-seeking capital: STRC offers a 12% annual dividend, while SATS delivers a 16.7% issuance yield.

The Top Five Are Being Reordered

According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, after Strategy, Metaplanet (3350.T) holds 44,000 BTC, Twenty One holds 43,514 BTC, Strive holds 43,000 BTC, and MARA holds 35,577 BTC. Strive is just 1,000 BTC behind second place, and at this pace, it could overtake within a week. Its CEO Matt Cole has repeatedly stated that the goal is to secure second place on the public company Bitcoin holdings leaderboard by year-end.

The divergence stems from differing access to capital markets. At the close on October 16, MSTR’s mNAV was approximately 1.08x. Issuing common shares to buy Bitcoin would barely increase Bitcoin content per share, and STRC remains trading below par—narrowing both of Strategy’s primary financing channels. Meanwhile, Strive has opened a new, high-cost funding channel and is currently in expansion mode. One firm is defending its existing position; the other is aggressively capturing market share.

Strategy is scheduled to release its Q3 earnings report on October 29.

By: Xiao Bing