{"id":14282,"date":"2026-10-09T10:08:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T10:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=14282"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:08:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T10:08:49","slug":"strategys-150-million-a-day-strc-market-has-a-hidden-dependency-on-its-own-buybacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=14282","title":{"rendered":"Strategy’s $150 million-a-day STRC market has a hidden dependency on its own buybacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Strategy’s $1.45 billion preferred-share buyback program is supporting a substantial share of trading in one of its key Bitcoin financing instruments.<\/p>\n

According to a Keyrock research report, Strategy’s repurchases accounted for more than 20% of weekly trading volume in its variable-rate preferred stock, STRC, during almost every week of September.<\/p>\n

The company’s share reached about 28% the week of Sept. 8 before falling to just under 20% in early October.<\/p>\n

The findings raise questions about how much of STRC’s market liquidity comes from independent investors and how trading conditions might change if Strategy reduces its purchases.<\/p>\n

That question is becoming increasingly relevant as the Michael Saylor-founded company approaches the limit of its repurchase authorization.<\/p>\n

Strategy had spent approximately $1.45 billion of its $2 billion authorization as of Oct. 4, leaving $547.2 million available. The program has helped support STRC as its shares recovered from the mid-$70s in June to approximately $99.50, approaching the security’s $100 reference price.<\/p>\n

However, the repurchases are discretionary, and Strategy can modify, suspend, or terminate the program.<\/p>\n

For a company seeking to establish preferred securities as a recurring funding channel for Bitcoin accumulation, the concern is whether those instruments can sustain investor demand without continued intervention from their issuer.<\/p>\n

Strategy’s buying accounts for a fifth of STRC trading<\/h2>\n

STRC is already among the most actively traded preferred securities in the market, averaging approximately $150 million in daily volume.<\/p>\n

\"Strategy's\"Strategy's
STRC trades about $152 million daily, exceeding major preferred benchmarks but remaining far below Treasury-market liquidity. (Source: Keyrock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keyrock found that the instrument can typically absorb about $28 million in trading before its price moves 10 basis points, or 0.1%.<\/p>\n

That puts it well ahead of Strive’s SATA and Strategy’s fixed-rate preferred securities, each with less than $3 million in comparable market depth.<\/p>\n

For institutional investors, that difference has practical consequences.<\/p>\n

Using an illustrative execution rate equivalent to 20% of daily trading volume, Keyrock estimated that a $50 million STRC position could be liquidated in less than two trading days.<\/p>\n

The same transaction would take approximately five days in SATA and six to eight weeks across Strategy’s fixed-rate preferred instruments.<\/p>\n

However, those estimates become less reassuring once Strategy’s repurchases are considered.<\/p>\n

Removing the company’s buying activity reduces estimated trading capacity to approximately 80% of reported volume, implying that a $50 million exit could take longer than headline turnover suggests.<\/p>\n

Keyrock cautioned that the calculation does not establish how much liquidity would disappear if Strategy stopped buying. Other market participants could also change their behavior in response.<\/p>\n

A preferred-income manager interviewed for the report suggested that some trading around STRC’s $100 reference price comes from arbitrage firms and high-frequency traders responding to the issuer’s activity.<\/p>\n

Such participants could reduce their involvement if Strategy withdraws, potentially leaving the market more dependent on longer-term investors and opportunistic buyers.<\/p>\n

STRC liquidity weakens when prices fall below $100<\/h2>\n

The risk extends beyond the company’s direct contribution to trading volume.<\/p>\n

Keyrock found that STRC’s market depth deteriorates sharply when the security moves away from its $100 reference price.<\/p>\n

On the worst 10% of trading days, estimated depth within a 10-basis-point price move falls from about $28 million to $6.5 million.<\/p>\n

The deterioration becomes more pronounced as the price discount widens.<\/p>\n

STRC is approximately four times less liquid when trading 1% to 3% away from par and roughly eight times less liquid when the deviation exceeds 6%, according to the report.<\/p>\n

That creates a potential problem for investors expecting to exit large positions without accepting significant price discounts.<\/p>\n

The relationship between STRC’s distance from par and market illiquidity had a correlation of 0.43, compared with 0.10 for the magnitude of Bitcoin’s daily price movements.<\/p>\n