Bitcoin keeps rallying mid-month – Is Saylor using Strategy’s STRC funding loop to pump BTC?

A notable development has hit the crypto markets. Bitcoin has been seeing recurring mid-month strength this year, and it is becoming harder to separate it from Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) expanding preferred-stock machine. The funding channel is helping the company continue to buy the flagship digital asset while adding a growing layer of cost to its balance sheet. Research firm K33 has tied the pattern to Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, which has become a key source of liquidity for the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

The instrument pays dividends at month-end, but investors must own the shares by the 15th to qualify for the payout. That deadline has turned the middle of each month into a predictable window of demand. Investors buy STRC ahead of the cutoff, driving up its trading volume, and the stock moves back toward its $100 par value.

Market Dynamics

Once STRC trades at or above par, Strategy can issue new shares through its at-the-market program and use the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin. live shows that this loop has become active this week, with STRC returning to par and giving Strategy enough room to fund the purchase of more than 5,000 Bitcoin before Friday’s next ex-dividend deadline. The move extends a pattern that has made Strategy’s capital markets activity a recurring feature of Bitcoin’s spot-market flow.

It also reinforces why STRC has become the most dominant preferred equity in the market. Strategy's STRC Liquidity Comparison Against Other Preferred Stocks (Source: Strategy) STRC turns dividend demand into Bitcoin buying The volume of Bitcoin acquired through this specific funding channel has accelerated aggressively since the start of the year. K33 research noted that Strategy bought 4,467 Bitcoin using STRC proceeds in January.

By March, purchases tied to the preferred stock had climbed to 22,131 Bitcoin. In April, the figure rose again to about 46,872 Bitcoin, showing how rapidly the instrument has moved from a financing tool to a major driver of the company’s accumulation strategy. Strategy's Monthly Bitcoin Purchases via STRC (Source: K33 Research) Vetle Lunde, the head of research at the crypto research firm, described the setup as a mechanical source of demand.

Market Impact

According to him, STRC draws yield-focused investors before the ex-dividend date, helping the preferred stock regain par and giving Strategy the market depth needed to issue more shares. The company then converts that demand into spot Bitcoin purchases. Meanwhile, Strategy is now seeking to tighten the cycle.

The company has proposed moving STRC’s dividend schedule from monthly payments to twice-monthly distributions, arguing that more frequent payouts would reduce reinvestment delays and improve market efficiency. The change would also create more frequent opportunities to raise capital. That could reinforce the mid-month buying pattern, while making Strategy more dependent on a product that carries a far higher cost than its earlier financing tools.

Strategy’s cheap-capital era gives way to preferred equity While the STRC mechanism is helping to shape BTC's near-term market performance, institutional researchers are sounding the alarm about the trade's long-term sustainability. For much of its Bitcoin accumulation history, the Michael Saylor-led company had relied on common stock issuance and convertible debt. Both were attractive when Strategy’s equity traded at a wide premium to the value of its Bitcoin holdings, and bond investors were willing to accept low coupons in exchange for exposure to possible stock upside.

Crypto markets are watching this development closely as investors weigh its potential impact on prices.