A new class of crypto treasury companies is emerging around Strategy’s high-yield stock, STRC, attracting companies looking to capture both exposure to bitcoin and additional income.
STRC is a security issued by Strategy, the largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin, as a funding vehicle to support its ongoing bitcoin accumulation strategy. The company raises capital by offering investors an 11.5% annual dividend paid monthly in cash, with the proceeds primarily used to purchase BTC.
Such is the stock’s popularity that it registered record trading volume on Tuesday, with more than $1.6 billion in shares changing hands.
STRC, the new base layer
As trading volume increases, an increasing number of companies and decentralized finance protocols are accumulating STRC to capture its dividends while gaining indirect exposure to bitcoin.
STRC is now being used as the base layer for new financial products that add leverage, tokenization and structured dividends.
Saturn Credit, a bitcoin-backed dividend platform, accumulated $15 million in STRC within six days of its launch. Apyx, an onchain credit protocol, has built a position of 800,000 shares after buying an additional 200,000 STRC, with plans to become one of the largest owners.
BitStrategy takes a similar approach. Co-founder and head of US Ryan McGinnis said the firm aims to accumulate Strategy securities with the long-term goal of becoming the world’s largest Strategy shareholder.
On-chain, nearly $200 million in tokenized STRC now exists on Ethereum, with close to $100 million trading on Pendle. Pendle is a decentralized finance platform that allows users to trade and separate returns from underlying assets, creating markets for future income streams.
Ex-dividend date pushes STRC below par value
During Wednesday’s premarket trading, STRC fell to $99.39, falling below its $100 par value, a benchmark price set by the company, often tied to how it issues new shares. This happened after the stock went “ex-dividend,” meaning new buyers are no longer eligible to receive the upcoming dividend payment.
Because the price is now below $100, the company will temporarily stop selling new shares through its at-the-market (ATM) program.
