Strategy buys $22M in Bitcoin and repurchases $193M in STRC shares
Strategy, the company led by Michael Saylor and the world's largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, bought 267 Bitcoin for $22.1 million between Oct. 12 and Oct. 18. Over the same period, it spent far more money buying back its own preferred stock: $193.1 million.
The figures come from a filing Strategy made on Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the government body that oversees US markets. The purchases were reported in a Cointelegraph article published Oct. 19, 2026.
Key numbers from the filing
- 267 Bitcoin bought for $22.1 million, at an average price of $82,900 each.
- Total holdings now stand at 848,517 Bitcoin.
- 1.94 million shares of STRC preferred stock repurchased for $193.1 million.
- Buyback authorization for the company's digital credit securities raised from $2 billion to $3 billion.
How the Bitcoin purchase was funded
Strategy funded the Bitcoin buy mainly by selling 140,872 shares of its common stock, which trades under the ticker MSTR, for $22 million in proceeds. It used existing cash to pay for the STRC repurchases.
Preferred stock is a class of shares that usually pays set dividends, which are regular payments to shareholders. STRC is a variable-rate preferred stock, meaning its dividend rate can change. Strategy has said before that it plans to repurchase shares trading below their $193.1 million... no — below their $100 stated value, in order to help support the stock's price.
So far in the fourth quarter, the company has spent $459.2 million on STRC buybacks. That is more than six times the $72.3 million it spent on 851 Bitcoin over the same period. Strategy reported a $4.83 billion US dollar reserve to cover preferred stock dividends and debt interest payments, plus $447.3 million in separate cash holdings.
What Saylor said about Bitcoin's outlook
Saylor commented on Bitcoin's direction during a discussion at the ParaFi Investor Day on Saturday, an appearance Cointelegraph linked to a YouTube video. He said, "We're moving back into a bull market," pointing to Bitcoin's recovery above its 200-day simple moving average, an indicator that tracks the average price over 200 days and is often used as a gauge of longer-term trends.
He named restrictive trade, foreign and monetary policies as headwinds for Bitcoin, and highlighted growing bank adoption and the tokenization of traditional financial assets — turning real-world assets into digital tokens on a blockchain — as possible drivers. These are Saylor's views, not confirmed facts.
Share prices before Monday's open
Before Monday's Nasdaq open, MSTR shares were trading more than 2.5% higher in premarket activity, according to Yahoo Finance. The shares had closed Friday down about 9.6%, at $138.83 each. STRC shares gained around 0.8% in premarket trading to $98.45, after falling 1.8% on Friday.
Why the buyback shift matters
The filings show Strategy is currently spending far more on repurchasing its preferred stock than on adding Bitcoin, a trend that has continued even as its leader expresses optimism about the market. Because the company buys Bitcoin partly by selling new shares, the balance between these two spending routes shows where management is directing its money right now.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.