In a packed venue at Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas, Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), announced that the company's digital credit instrument, STRC (Strategy Preferred Stock), has grown to $8.5 billion in just nine months. Saylor called it the "largest and most liquid preferred stock in the world," marking a new era for digital credit.
From $8.5B to $350B: The Vast Opportunity in Digital Credit
Saylor framed the past year as a tipping point for digital credit, a category he defined as credit designed on top of bitcoin as an underlying capital asset. He noted that the conditions for this product category had existed for decades, but no one had assembled the pieces correctly. "Digital credit is the killer app of digital capital," Saylor told the audience. "By combining publicly traded companies, bitcoin as a balance sheet asset, perpetual preferred stock, and an ATM issuance program, we have created something that never existed before."
Strategy currently holds 818,334 bitcoins, making it the world's largest corporate bitcoin holder. Saylor used this position to argue that bitcoin's returns can be distributed to both long-term capital holders and short-term credit investors seeking stable yields. He distinguished between capital (suitable for investors willing to endure volatility without cash flows for years) and credit (suitable for those wanting predictable income without managing risk themselves).
Overcollateralization: 80% Drop Still Safe for Credit Investors
The STRC structure revolves around overcollateralization. Saylor pointed out that a 5-to-1 collateralization ratio means the underlying asset can fall 80% and credit investors would still be fully protected. The capital investor absorbs that loss while the credit holder remains safe. Bitcoin's annual return of approximately 38% over the past five years (outperforming gold, real estate, and money market instruments) provides ample margin to pay credit investors an 11% yield while the rest accumulates for shareholders.
Bitcoin's current volatility is around 40%. By eliminating risk through overcollateralization and active management, Saylor said STRC has significantly reduced that volatility, with plans to reduce it further. The result is a product that generates yield within a month, rather than asking investors to wait a decade for gains. Saylor also noted that dividends can be structured as return of capital for tax deferral, allowing investors to receive income without immediate taxable events.
Market Opportunity: 10% of $3.5 Trillion Private Credit
Saylor identified the private credit market as the immediate opportunity. This market exceeds $3.5 trillion globally, but is illiquid, opaque, largely restricted to qualified investors, and carries high fees. Digital credit, he argued, is liquid, transparent, scalable, and fee-free. "Even if we capture 10% of the private credit market, that's $350 billion," Saylor stated. The STRC issuance registration has expanded to $21 billion, far exceeding historical norms. The instrument is accessible through major brokerage platforms for retail, institutional, and corporate investors.
Longer-term plans include increasing dividend frequency, expanding into ETFs and indices, and ultimately bringing high-yield digital savings instruments to billions of users worldwide. Saylor predicted that digital credit will reach trillions globally.
Million Bitcoin Target: Possible by End of 2026
Strategy recently acquired another 34,164 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 (note: figures vary slightly by reporting time, currently around 818,334). At the current pace, the company is on track to reach one million bitcoins by December 2026. River Financial previously noted that STRC inflows have eclipsed net ETF gains.