Strategy's STRC Preferred Stock Hits Record Correlation With Bitcoin Amid Sharp Decline
Strategy Inc.'s perpetual preferred stock, traded under the ticker STRC and nicknamed 'Stretch,' is moving in lockstep with Bitcoin more than at any point since its launch — and that's raising serious concerns for income-focused investors.
According to data from TradingView, the 90-day correlation coefficient between STRC and Bitcoin has surged to approximately 0.70, the highest reading recorded since the instrument first appeared on markets in July 2025. The correlation has been climbing steadily throughout June, with both assets shedding significant value in tandem. STRC has lost roughly 23% of its value this month, dropping to $76, while Bitcoin has declined nearly 20%, falling below the $60,000 mark — a price level not seen since October 2024.
For investors who chose STRC precisely because it offered a degree of separation from Bitcoin's notorious volatility, this trend is troubling. The product was structured as a variable-rate perpetual preferred stock with a par value of $100, designed to pay monthly cash dividends. The current annualized dividend yield stands at 11.5%, with the board reviewing and adjusting the rate each month to encourage the stock to trade near par. When shares trade above $100, Strategy can issue new shares through at-the-market offerings and channel those proceeds into additional Bitcoin purchases.
However, with STRC now trading well below its $100 par value, that mechanism is effectively stalled. The steep discount significantly curtails the firm's capacity to raise fresh capital for BTC accumulation. In a notable departure from its historically firm 'never sell' philosophy, Strategy has recently conducted small Bitcoin sales, reportedly to meet its dividend obligations — a move that signals growing financial pressure.
Strategy remains the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 847,363 BTC on its balance sheet valued at approximately $50.4 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. The sheer scale of these holdings means that any prolonged Bitcoin downturn reverberates directly through the company's financial structure.
Opinions among market participants are divided over what comes next. Optimists argue that STRC's current discount represents a compelling entry point for yield-seekers, reasoning that a Bitcoin recovery could push the stock back toward par, offering both dividend income and capital gains. Skeptics, on the other hand, warn that a prolonged slump could erode the firm's capital buffers, reduce its ability to sustain dividends from internal reserves, and undermine the self-reinforcing loop of Bitcoin buying that has defined Strategy's growth model.
What is clear is that the tightening correlation between STRC and Bitcoin has fundamentally altered the stock's risk profile. What was marketed as a relatively stable income instrument is increasingly behaving like a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin price action — a dynamic investors will need to weigh carefully as market conditions continue to evolve.
