STRC: An 11.5% Bitcoin-Backed Dividend Stock

KEY POINTS

• STRC is Strategy's perpetual preferred stock trading at $100 par value on Nasdaq, paying an 11.5% annual dividend in monthly cash installments.
• The STRC dividend has increased every month since launching at 9% in July 2025, reaching 11.5% by March 2026 before holding steady in April.
• Strategy holds over 712,000 Bitcoin funded by $8.2 billion in convertible debt, making the MicroStrategy Bitcoin risk picture the single most important variable for any STRC investor.

If you are a yield-hungry investor scanning for income in a world where savings accounts pay next to nothing, a stock paying 11.5% monthly cash dividends is going to catch your eye. That is exactly what Strategy's STRC preferred stock is offering right now.

STRC is not a standard dividend stock, and the company behind it is not a standard company. Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has essentially reinvented itself as the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, and STRC is one of the instruments it uses to fund those purchases. Understanding what that means for your money is non-negotiable before buying a single share.

What is STRC and how does it work?

STRC, officially called Strategy's Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, trades on Nasdaq under the ticker STRC. It has a par value of $100 per share and pays dividends monthly in cash. The current STRC dividend rate is 11.5% annually, which works out to approximately $0.96 per share every month.

The "variable rate" part is the most unusual feature. Strategy adjusts the STRC dividend each month specifically to keep the share price anchored close to $100. If the price drifts above par, the company can trim the yield to cool demand. If it falls below, they raise it to attract buyers. This mechanism has worked remarkably well in practice. Since its 2025 launch, STRC's all-time high was $100.42 and its all-time low was $88, reached in its early weeks before the mechanism stabilised.

On April 9, 2026, STRC recorded one of its highest single-day trading volumes since launch at approximately $333 million in volume, while moving just one penny in price. Strategy chairman Michael Saylor noted publicly that this illustrated exactly what the instrument was designed to do: near-zero volatility with high liquidity.

How often does STRC pay dividends?

STRC pays dividends every month. This is one of the clearest structural differences between STRC and most preferred stocks, which typically pay quarterly. The next ex-dividend date is April 15, 2026, with payment on April 30. Monthly payment frequency is deliberate. Strategy positions STRC as a short-duration, high-yield savings alternative, and monthly cash distributions support that framing.

The dividend rate history since launch tells an important story about how the instrument has evolved:

Seven consecutive increases followed by the first hold in April 2026, when STRC's monthly VWAP reached $99.95, close enough to par that a raise was not needed.

Image by Strategy

The MicroStrategy Bitcoin risk picture in 2026

Here is the part of the STRC story that no income investor can afford to skip.

Strategy holds over 712,000 Bitcoin, making it the world's largest corporate BTC holder by a wide margin. Virtually the entire company's valuation, and much of its ability to service its financial obligations, is tied to Bitcoin's price. The company funded those purchases aggressively through $8.2 billion in convertible notes and multiple series of preferred stock including STRC.

The MicroStrategy Bitcoin risk in 2026 centers on several specific pressure points. The largest is $5 billion in convertible bonds maturing in 2028 that are currently out of the money, meaning the conversion price is higher than the current stock price. If Bitcoin falls sharply before those bonds come due, Strategy could face a brutal choice between selling Bitcoin at depressed prices or restructuring its debt. S&P analysts have specifically flagged this as the most significant near-term risk.

Strategy's cash reserve of approximately $2.25 billion provides roughly 2.5 years of coverage for its dividend obligations across all preferred shares. The total annual dividend obligation across its preferred share series sits near $800 million. STRC itself had grown to an aggregate stated value of approximately $3.4 billion by early 2026.

Crucially, STRC preferred shares are not collateralized by Strategy's Bitcoin holdings. They only have a preferred claim on the residual assets of the company in a liquidation scenario. That is an important distinction from secured debt.

MSTR common stock has fallen approximately 80% from its November 2024 peak, tracking Bitcoin's decline from around $126,000 down to current levels, and then amplifying that move due to leverage. STRC has traded in a roughly $88 to $100.42 range for the same period, demonstrating significantly lower volatility.

The trade-off is straightforward: MSTR gives you all the Bitcoin upside and all the downside. STRC gives you monthly income with price stability, but no participation in a Bitcoin bull run.

Is STRC a good investment?

Whether STRC is a good investment depends almost entirely on how you weigh two things: how attractive 11.5% monthly cash income is, and how comfortable you are with the underlying MicroStrategy Bitcoin risk.

The case for STRC is genuine. The yield is exceptional compared to most fixed income alternatives. The monthly payment frequency is investor-friendly. The price stability mechanism has worked as designed since launch. Strategy's $2.25 billion cash reserve provides a meaningful multi-year buffer for dividend payments even if Bitcoin stays depressed. And institutional buyers like Strive have already committed $50 million to STRC as part of their own treasury strategy, which is a credible signal of confidence in the instrument's structure.

The case against is equally real. STRC is perpetual, meaning Strategy has no obligation to ever redeem it. If Bitcoin falls sharply and Strategy's financial position deteriorates, preferred dividends can be suspended. While STRC holds a preferred position over common equity, it sits behind secured creditors and has no direct claim on the Bitcoin stack. The $800 million annual dividend obligation across all preferred series is a significant recurring cost that Strategy funds through ongoing capital raises, not operating revenue.

The honest framing is that STRC is not a bond. It is a high-yield, Bitcoin-adjacent income instrument issued by a company that is entirely dependent on Bitcoin's price for its long-term solvency. For investors who understand that, want monthly income, and can tolerate the tail risk, the 11.5% yield is a meaningful proposition. For investors looking for truly safe, predictable income, the underlying risk profile of the issuer matters too much to ignore.

As always, do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.