Strategy's STRC Machine Is Buying 10x More Bitcoin Than All US Spot ETFs Combined
Bitwise says the rally has room to run as the firm absorbs supply at a historic pace. Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow has separately noted that Strategy is purchasing at roughly three times the rate of new daily mining output.
Strategy, the software firm turned corporate Bitcoin treasury, has spent approximately $7.7 billion acquiring Bitcoin so far in 2026, with more than half of that total deployed in March alone. The bulk of that capital has flowed from a relatively obscure preferred stock instrument called STRC.
Analysts at Bitwise Asset Management say the buying pressure created by this mechanism could sustain Bitcoin's current rally for an extended period. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has characterised the dynamic as one that could last "for some time to come" (paraphrased; original source could not be independently confirmed).
As of April 27, Strategy holds 818,334 BTC at a total cost basis of $61.81 billion, or roughly $75,537 per coin on average. That position now exceeds BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), making Strategy the largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder in the world. The company's two most recent disclosed purchases were 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion on April 20, followed by a further 3,273 BTC for $255 million on April 27.
What STRC Is and Why It Matters
STRC, launched in July 2025, is a perpetual preferred stock that pays shareholders an 11.5% annual dividend in monthly cash payments. It trades on Nasdaq near its $100 par value. Because it has no maturity date, Strategy can continuously issue new STRC shares and route the proceeds into Bitcoin purchases. The company adjusts the dividend rate monthly to keep market pricing near par, creating what amounts to a self-regulating capital pipeline into Bitcoin. Strategy also holds approximately 2.5 years' worth of dividend payments in reserve, meaning it does not need to sell any Bitcoin to meet those obligations.
Preferred shareholders receive dividends before common shareholders and hold priority repayment rights in the event of insolvency, which makes STRC a lower-risk vehicle for investors who want Bitcoin exposure with a yield component. STRC-linked purchases have accounted for roughly 86% of Strategy's capital raising in recent weeks, limiting dilution of common stock holders.
André Dragosch, Head of Research at Bitwise Europe, put the mechanism plainly: "STRC issuances have increased considerably in 2026, allowing Strategy to continue raising capital for BTC purchases in a rather unfavourable market environment." He added that Strategy is "playing in its own stadium right now," noting that its corporate treasury purchases have substantially exceeded global ETF net buying.
The scale is striking. Year-to-date, STRC-funded purchases total roughly 77,000 BTC, approximately ten times the net Bitcoin acquired by all US spot Bitcoin ETFs combined (around 8,000 BTC). In March alone, Strategy reportedly accounted for an estimated 94% of all institutional Bitcoin purchases globally.
The On-Chain Picture
Bitcoin's price has gained approximately 13 to 15% in April 2026, its strongest April performance since 2020, trading in the $77,000 to $79,000 range. The Coinbase Premium Index, which tracks the price difference between Coinbase and offshore exchanges, has remained positive for 14 consecutive days, signalling sustained buying from US-based institutional participants.
Exchange reserves of Bitcoin have dropped to approximately 2.21 million BTC, a level not seen in seven to nine years, representing just 5.88% of total circulating supply. Whale wallets added roughly 270,000 BTC in the past 30 days, the largest accumulation figure recorded since 2013. Funding rates on perpetual futures have turned slightly negative, indicating that recent price gains are being driven by spot buying rather than leveraged speculation. K33 Research has flagged this as a structurally healthier foundation for a sustained move.
According to reports, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has warned there may not be "enough supply" to absorb Saylor's buying trajectory.
Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow noted separately that Strategy is currently purchasing Bitcoin at roughly three times the rate of new mining output each day.
What This Means Outside the United States
For retail and institutional users in South Asia and Africa, the mechanics behind this rally carry specific implications. India ranked first in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, and the region recorded 80% growth in crypto adoption in the first half of 2025. Across South Asia more broadly, Chainalysis estimates approximately $300 billion in regional transaction volume, and TRM Labs data shows that 68.8% of South Asian transaction volume consists of transfers over $1 million, pointing to significant institutional activity throughout the region.
Pakistan, home to an estimated 18.2 million crypto users, established the Pakistan Crypto Council in March 2025 and is forming the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) as its dedicated oversight body. Those developments make the STRC model a potentially relevant template for emerging corporate treasury strategies in the country. Bangladesh, with approximately 3.1 million users, operates in a legally ambiguous environment where crypto remains technically prohibited but is widely adopted through stablecoins and peer-to-peer platforms.
A price rally driven by a single corporate entity absorbing new supply at this pace differs structurally from the speculative cycles of 2021. For traders in markets like WazirX and CoinDCX, a supply-constrained environment can increase price volatility in both directions.
In Africa, where Bitcoin exchange reserves at multi-year lows translate to thinner liquidity on P2P platforms, sharper price swings can mean wider spreads for smaller traders. Nigerian users on Binance P2P and comparable networks, including Paxful-equivalent platforms, are particularly exposed to that kind of secondary market friction. The regulatory context for Nigerian participants has also shifted materially since 2021. Nigeria formally recognised digital assets as securities under the Investment and Securities Act 2025, and the Central Bank of Nigeria has relaxed restrictions on banks working with licensed digital asset providers. Those changes distinguish the current environment from the one that prevailed during the last major cycle.
Kenya is hosting two major Bitcoin events in 2026: the Kenya Blockchain and Crypto Conference (KBCC) on May 14 to 15, and Adopting Bitcoin Nairobi on June 24 to 25. Both will almost certainly feature discussion of Strategy's accumulation model and the mechanics of the STRC instrument.
The concentration risk embedded in Strategy's model is worth noting as an independent analytical matter. The company's common stock has fallen roughly 45% from its December 2025 highs despite ongoing Bitcoin purchases. If STRC were to trade significantly below its $100 par value, new issuances would slow or stop, removing what is currently the market's single largest source of institutional demand. That said, Strategy's roughly 2.5-year dividend reserve provides meaningful runway without requiring any Bitcoin sales, which lends the mechanism more durability than the headline stock decline might suggest. Dragosch framed the broader outlook as one of continued accumulation advantage rather than fragility, arguing that Strategy is "more likely to acquire more Bitcoin than IBIT as long as the macro environment stays volatile due to rising energy prices and elevated recession risks."
For retail-heavy markets in South Asia and Africa, that qualifier matters.
Editor's note: Matt Hougan's characterisation of the rally's staying power is paraphrased; his direct quotes from The Block's primary article could not be independently verified due to a site access error. The characterisation is consistent with his documented 2026 outlook and is corroborated by Bitwise Europe analysis. The paraphrased nature of the attribution is noted inline in the article.