Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) — a company famously committed to never selling its Bitcoin — has officially acknowledged it will sell, at least under certain conditions. On Monday (June 29), Strategy submitted an 8-K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), unveiling a new “Digital Credit Capital Framework” that transforms its Bitcoin treasury into a more flexible instrument.
The core of the framework is a Bitcoin monetization plan that authorizes the board to sell Bitcoin on an ad hoc basis, but only for three specific purposes: replenishing U.S. dollar reserves, paying preferred stock dividends and interest, and supporting share repurchases. Each purpose has a cap; the dollar reserve booster can generate at most $1.25 billion in additional proceeds. As of June 28, the reserve stood at roughly $2.55 billion (including some unsettled ATM proceeds), enough to cover about 17.4 months of preferred dividends.
Not a Fire Sale
The second purpose allows the company to use BTC proceeds to pay dividends and interest when selling Bitcoin is cheaper than issuing new equity or other financing. The third purpose funds buyback programs, including related taxes and fees. Any sale outside these purposes or beyond the authorized amounts requires separate board approval. The framework has no fixed expiration date, does not mandate any Bitcoin sales, and can be modified, suspended, or terminated at any time. The move is clearly aimed at giving Strategy more flexibility to prevent its preferred debt from sliding.
Alongside the monetization plan, Strategy announced two $1 billion share buyback programs — one for Digital Credit preferred stock and one for MSTR common stock — totaling $2 billion. More notable is the preferred stock adjustment: Strategy hiked the annual dividend rate on its STRC perpetual preferred stock to 12.00%, effective from the semi-monthly period starting July 1. Pairing “selling Bitcoin to pay dividends” with “raising the dividend” signals meaningful payout pressure on the preferred side.
STRC Dividend Jumps to 12%
Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor emphasized that Bitcoin remains Strategy’s primary reserve asset. He described the framework as a way to strengthen credit quality, reduce expected preferred dividend costs when advantageous, and clarify capital management tools — all while maintaining long-term Bitcoin exposure.
Markets responded swiftly. MSTR and STRC both surged nearly 10% in pre-market trading, reaching $82.31 and $80.99, respectively. As of June 28, Strategy still holds 847,363 Bitcoin, worth approximately $64.1 billion.