Strategy halts bitcoin buying again, redeems $176.3 million of STRC

Strategy has stopped buying bitcoin again, a week after resuming purchases. It instead redeemed 1,810,885 shares of its STRC preferred stock for $176.3 million and expanded the limit of its digital credit securities repurchase programme to $2 billion from $1 billion.

On Sept. 8, foreign media including blockchain outlet Decrypt reported that Strategy did not buy or sell bitcoin from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7 and did not conduct an at-the-market stock offering. As of Sept. 7, its bitcoin holdings stayed at 845,050 BTC. Strategy bought those holdings for a total of $63.73 billion, and its average purchase price including fees and expenses was $75,412 per bitcoin.

This week's spending focused on redeeming STRC. Strategy redeemed 1,810,885 shares of STRC, a floating-rate perpetual preferred stock, and did not redeem STRF, STRK and STRD preferred shares or its common stock, MSTR. The redemption was funded from a U.S. dollar cash account. The board expanded the limit of the digital credit securities repurchase programme from $1 billion to $2 billion, and $1.19 billion remained as of Sept. 7. A separate $1 billion limit for a repurchase programme for MSTR common stock was kept unchanged.

As of Sept. 7, Strategy holds $5.1 billion in dollar reserves and $1.44 billion in dollar cash. Dollar reserves are used for preferred dividends and debt interest payments, while dollar cash is funds management can deploy, including for bitcoin purchases. The STRC redemption used $176.3 million from dollar cash.