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 and additional income.
STRC is a security issued by Strategy, the largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, as a financing vehicle to support its ongoing bitcoin accumulation strategy. The company raises capital by offering investors an 11.5% annualized dividend, paid monthly in cash, with the proceeds primarily used to purchase BTC.
The stock’s popularity is such that it saw record trading volume on Tuesday, with more than $1.6 billion in shares changing hands.
STRC, the new base layer
As trading volumes increase, a growing number of companies and decentralized finance protocols are accumulating STRC to capture their performance while also gaining indirect exposure to bitcoin.
STRC is now used as a base layer for new financial products that add leverage, tokenization, and structured yield.
Saturn Credit, a bitcoin-backed yield platform, accumulated $15 million in STRC within six days of launching. Apyx, an on-chain credit protocol, has built a position of 800,000 shares after purchasing an additional 200,000 STRC, with plans to become one of the largest holders.
BitStrategy is taking a similar approach. Co-founder and US head Ryan McGinnis said the company aims to accumulate Strategy securities, with the long-term goal of becoming the largest Strategy shareholder in the world.
On-chain, there is now nearly $200 million in tokenized STRC on Ethereum, with nearly $100 million traded on Pendle. Pendle is a decentralized financial platform that allows users to trade and separate the performance of underlying assets, creating markets for future income streams.
No-dividend date pushes STRC below face value
During premarket trading on Wednesday, STRC fell to $99.39, below its face value of $100, a reference price set by the company, often tied to how it issues new shares. This happened after the stock became “ex-dividend,” meaning new buyers are no longer eligible to receive the next dividend payment.
Because the price is now below $100, the company will temporarily stop selling new shares through its ATM program.
