Strive’s Bitcoin-linked preferred stock SATA has climbed back toward its $100 target price, prompting Jan3 chief executive Samson Mow to suggest the recovery could pave the way for a similar move in Strategy’s STRC security.
SATA has rallied almost 16% from its June low of $83.30 to around $97, according to Yahoo Finance figures, leaving it trading within roughly 3% of its intended $100 par. The rebound has reversed most of the late-June slide in the preferred shares, even as Strategy’s STRC remains about 13% below par.
Mow told Cointelegraph that the improvement in SATA could help convince investors that the funding model used by Strive and Strategy is still working, and that their Bitcoin-linked preferred structures remain capable of supporting dividend payments while trading close to their stated value.
He argued that the two securities are likely to be judged together by the market, as investors assess whether Bitcoin treasury companies can continue to use these instruments to finance their holdings and maintain regular payouts.
“But everything sort of works in tandem. I think as SATA returns to par, you’re going to see STRC return to par too, because people say, ‘OK, this model’s not broken.’ Everyone is capitalized for three or more years of dividend payments… there was no reason to panic all along,” he said.
Variable-rate Bitcoin preferreds under scrutiny
Strive introduced SATA in November 2025 as a way to expand its Bitcoin reserves without issuing more common equity. The perpetual preferred shares are structured with a variable-rate dividend that can be adjusted to encourage trading around the $100 par level.
By raising or lowering the payout as needed, Strive can make SATA more or less appealing to investors as the market price moves, seeking to keep the shares anchored near par. The company describes the approach as a way to secure recurring access to capital markets while limiting dilution for existing common shareholders under its treasury strategy.
Strategy launched STRC in 2025 using a nearly identical framework. STRC also uses a variable dividend aimed at keeping its price around $100 and sits within a category Strategy brands as “digital credit”.
Both securities were hit hard during the late-June sell-off, falling significantly below their target levels. While SATA has since recovered to about $97, Yahoo Finance data show STRC closed at $86.89 on 24 July, up 2.29% on the day, before edging higher to $87.14 in after-hours trading.
Mow regards the gap in their respective recoveries as a short-term discrepancy rather than a sign that STRC’s design has broken down. His view is that SATA’s move back toward par will be read by investors as evidence that preferred shares backed by Bitcoin treasuries can regain lost ground after sharp drawdowns.
New entrants and growing institutional demand
Alongside price moves, Mow highlighted changes in how Bitcoin treasury operators are raising capital and managing their holdings. He pointed to Lyn Alden’s Orange Juice treasury company, launched on 15 July, as an example of a newer player adopting a different operational approach and starting from a lower Bitcoin acquisition cost base.
Data from BitcoinTreasuries rank Strategy as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 843,775 BTC. Strive, with 19,921 BTC, is seventh among public companies monitored by the platform. The two firms therefore have very different levels of exposure, but both depend heavily on capital-market instruments to underpin their Bitcoin strategies.
For Strive, SATA is intended to provide fresh funding without further common-share issuance. Strategy, meanwhile, relies on STRC and other securities to finance additional Bitcoin purchases, making the trading level of STRC critical to the economics of its accumulation plans.
Institutional interest has already pushed STRC to the top of three major US preferred stock exchange-traded funds, despite the security still changing hands below $100.
On 24 July, Strategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor disclosed that STRC has become the largest single position in BlackRock’s iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF, Virtus InfraCap’s U.S. Preferred Stock ETF and VanEck’s Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF.
Figures shared by Saylor show the three funds collectively hold $756m of STRC. Their portfolios also include preferred shares issued by established US corporations, meaning ETF investors gain indirect exposure to Strategy’s Bitcoin-linked “digital credit” alongside more traditional income-producing assets.
Discount weighs on Strategy’s funding maths
Saylor used an X post to present the ETF allocations as evidence that Strategy’s “digital credit” is being adopted by institutional investors. However, STRC’s closing price on 24 July still sat 13.11% below its $100 par, a discount that carries practical consequences for Strategy’s capital-raising plans.
The company sells STRC to fund additional Bitcoin purchases. Issuing shares close to or above par would allow nearly the full $100 per share to be deployed into Bitcoin. With STRC trading around $87, each new share raises significantly less capital, reducing the efficiency of the structure as a tool for acquiring more Bitcoin.
Selling more STRC at current levels would therefore generate less funding per share than an issuance conducted near par, potentially undermining the economics of using the preferred stock for further accumulation, even if demand from ETFs remains robust.
Mow’s outlook links any improvement in those conditions directly to SATA’s performance. If investors interpret Strive’s preferred shares moving back toward $100 as confirmation that variable-rate, Bitcoin-backed preferreds can stabilise after volatility, his view is that STRC could attract enough additional buying interest to narrow its discount. That, in turn, would restore a more effective funding channel for Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury ambitions.
