Strategy’s STRC preferred stock has become the largest position in three major U.S. preferred stock ETFs, whose combined holdings of the security total $756 million, even as STRC continues to trade roughly 13% below its $100 par value.

Michael Saylor, Strategy’s co-founder and executive chairman, said STRC now ranks as the largest holding in BlackRock’s iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF), Virtus InfraCap’s U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFFA), and VanEck’s Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF (PFXF). In a July 24 post on X, Saylor said the ETF allocations showed that Strategy’s “digital credit” products are moving into institutional portfolios.

Digital Credit is entering the institutional mainstream. $STRC is now the largest holding in three leading U.S. preferred stock ETFs, with $756 million held across BlackRock’s $PFF, Virtus InfraCap’s $PFFA, and VanEck’s $PFXF. pic.twitter.com/IoYwl2D360 — Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 24, 2026

Digital Credit is entering the institutional mainstream. $STRC is now the largest holding in three leading U.S. preferred stock ETFs, with $756 million held across BlackRock’s $PFF, Virtus InfraCap’s $PFFA, and VanEck’s $PFXF. pic.twitter.com/IoYwl2D360

The three ETFs provide investors with indirect exposure to STRC alongside preferred securities issued by established U.S. companies. Preferred stock ETFs are typically used for income exposure, and their allocations can place newer issuers beside banks, utilities, real estate companies, and other repeat issuers of preferred securities. Based on Saylor’s figures, the funds together hold $756 million of STRC, making it the largest individual position in each portfolio.

Despite the increase in ETF demand, STRC closed at $86.89 on July 24, up 2.29% for the session, before moving to $87.14 in after-hours trading, according to market data displayed by Yahoo Finance. The closing price left STRC 13.11% below the $100 level that Strategy designed the security to track.

The discount to par is a significant issue for Strategy because the company uses STRC sales to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases. Strategy can issue additional preferred shares near or above $100 and deploy the proceeds into Bitcoin, but issuing new stock at a large discount would raise less capital per share and make the transaction less favorable.

ETF demand has increased institutional ownership

Strategy CEO Phong Le said the average STRC position held by institutions rose 105% to $3.5 million between March and July. During the same period, retail investors’ share of ownership declined from 78% to 71%, according to figures Le published on X.

“The institutions are coming,” Le wrote.

Yes, but that means retail investors sold for a loss. My guess is the institutional buyers bought in for a short-term trade only. Or maybe they shorted MSTR and bought STRC as a spread trade. Maybe they bought STRC and shorted Bitcoin. None of those trades are bullish bets. — Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) July 24, 2026

Yes, but that means retail investors sold for a loss. My guess is the institutional buyers bought in for a short-term trade only. Or maybe they shorted MSTR and bought STRC as a spread trade. Maybe they bought STRC and shorted Bitcoin. None of those trades are bullish bets.

Le’s figures corrected reports that had described the increase in average institutional holdings as 10%. His post put the rise at 105%, meaning the average institutional position more than doubled over the four-month period.

Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff said institutional participation does not necessarily show that every buyer expects STRC or Bitcoin to rise. Responding to Le, Schiff argued that retail investors may have sold their positions at a loss while professional investors entered trades intended to capture pricing differences between Strategy-related assets.

Schiff said some funds may have bought STRC while shorting Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, as a spread trade. He also said other buyers may have paired long STRC positions with short Bitcoin exposure.

“None of those trades are bullish bets,” Schiff wrote in his response.

Strategy currently pays STRC holders a 12% annual cash dividend through two payments each month. The company’s STRC information page says management adjusts the dividend rate monthly in an effort to keep the stock trading near its $100 par value and to reduce price volatility. For preferred securities, the gap between market price and par value is closely watched because it affects both the current yield for buyers and the issuer’s ability to sell additional shares on intended terms.

The high payout has not yet eliminated the discount. STRC’s 52-week range runs from $71.25 to $100.42, and its July 24 closing price remained closer to the lower end of that range than to par.

The $100 level is central to Strategy’s Bitcoin funding plan

Le has directly tied additional STRC issuance and Bitcoin purchases to a recovery in the preferred stock’s price. In a July interview, the Strategy CEO said the company would resume issuing more STRC once the security returned to par.

“We’ll continue to build that. And yeah, when Stretch gets back to par, we’ll issue more. We’ll buy more Bitcoin,” Le said.

Under that model, a return to $100 would allow Strategy to sell new STRC shares on more favorable terms and use the proceeds to acquire additional Bitcoin. Until the discount narrows, Le’s comments indicate that the company has less incentive to expand the program.

Strategy has already shown how pressure on its preferred securities can affect its Bitcoin treasury. A July 6 filing showed that the company sold 3,588 $BTC for $216 million to fund dividends on its digital-credit securities and maintain liquidity. After the sale, Saylor said Strategy held 843,775 $BTC and had increased its U.S. dollar reserves to $2.55 billion.

Also on July 6, Binance Stocks added STRC for spot trading, according to an exchange announcement reported by crypto.news. The listing followed the launch of STRC-linked perpetual futures and gave Binance users another way to trade the preferred security.

Binance said fully paid securities lending would become available after stock transactions had fully settled. Although the listing created another distribution channel for STRC, the security’s continued discount shows that ETF accumulation and additional trading access have not yet restored the $100 level needed for Strategy to restart Bitcoin purchases funded by new preferred-share issuance.