STRC (Stretch) Explained: Yield, Mechanics, Risks

Short answer: STRC (Stretch) is a perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder. It has a $100 stated amount and pays a variable dividend that Strategy resets every month: 12% a year right now, paid daily. The rate is meant to keep the price near $100. It is backed by Strategy's bitcoin, not by bitcoin you hold.

You hold bitcoin, but your bills arrive in dollars, euros or francs, and you don't want to sell. Strategy built STRC for exactly that gap: a security meant to feel like a high-yield money market fund whose safety depends on bitcoin. Here is how STRC preferred stock works, where the yield comes from and when it can wobble.

Key takeaways

• STRC is neither a bond nor bitcoin. It is a perpetual preferred stock of Strategy (MSTR) with a $100 stated amount.
• The dividend is variable. Strategy sets the rate monthly; since its launch in July 2025 it has risen from 9% to 12% (as of Nov 12, 2026).
• The rate steers the price. Below $100, Strategy can raise the rate; above $100, Strategy sells new shares.
• Coverage is high but not unlimited. Strategy's bitcoin covers everything up to and including STRC 3.77 times. Only below roughly $19’050 per bitcoin would STRC no longer be fully covered.
• The real risks are price, rate cuts and currency, not an immediate default: in June 2026, STRC fell as low as $74.57.

What is STRC (Stretch)?

STRC's full name is "Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock". Strategy listed it on Nasdaq on July 29, 2025, at an offering price of $90 against a $100 stated amount.

A preferred stock sits between debt and common stock. You get no vote and no share of profits beyond the dividend. In return, you are paid before common shareholders: while STRC dividends are unpaid, Strategy may not pay anything to MSTR holders.

"Perpetual" means STRC has no maturity date. You never get your $100 back on a set day. You exit by selling on the market, or if Strategy redeems the shares.

Strategy uses the money raised with STRC to buy bitcoin. How much bitcoin all of its preferred stocks together have funded, from the weekly SEC filings, is on the Digital Credit overview.

As of Nov 6, 2026, per Strategy and SEC filings. Live figures are on the Digital Credit page.

How STRC's mechanics work

The idea behind STRC is simple: the price should stay near $100, and the dividend rate is the lever.

1. Strategy sets the dividend rate every month. It applies to the whole following month.
2. If STRC trades well below $100, demand is too weak. Strategy can raise the rate to bring buyers back.
3. If STRC trades above $100, Strategy sells new STRC shares through an at-the-market program (ATM). The extra supply pushes the price back toward $100, and Strategy buys bitcoin with the proceeds.
4. Strategy may only cut the rate slowly. Per the prospectus, by at most 0.25 percentage points a month plus any fall in the US reference rate SOFR, and never below that reference rate.

That makes STRC behave like a short-term rate instrument: the price moves little while the market trusts Strategy, and the rate adjusts.

How has the rate changed?

The rate has only gone up since launch. Strategy had to pay more to hold the market at $100.

Source: dividend history in the strategy.com/credit data feed, as of Nov 12, 2026.

STRC yield: what you actually earn

The dividend rate always refers to the $100 stated amount. What you earn depends on the price you pay. That is the effective yield.

Buying at $99.98 (closing price on Nov 12, 2026) gives an effective yield almost equal to the rate: 12.0%. Had you bought at the low of $74.57 on Jun 26, 2026, the 11.5% rate at the time would have given you more than 15% effective yield.

Worked example in USD, EUR and CHF

Example: $10’000, €10’000 or CHF 10’000 in STRC

Exchange rates on Nov 12, 2026: $1 = €0.904 = CHF 0.835.

• $10’000 buys about 100 STRC at $99.98. 100 shares × $12 = $1’200 a year, $100 a month, before taxes.
• €10’000 is about $11’060, or roughly 110 STRC, paying about $1’330, roughly €1’200 a year.
• CHF 10’000 is about $11’980, or roughly 120 STRC, paying about $1’440, roughly CHF 1’200 a year.

This holds only while the rate and the exchange rate stay the same. If the dollar falls 10%, your dividend in euros or francs falls 10% too.

Work out the monthly cash flow from your own amount, and how it changes with rate and price, in the calculator:

How safe is STRC? Coverage and seniority

STRC is not secured by any specific bitcoin. There is no collateral. Its safety comes from Strategy owning a lot of bitcoin and from STRC ranking high in the capital structure.

If Strategy gets into trouble, claims are paid in this order:

As of Nov 6, 2026, per the Strategy dashboard and SEC filings.

Strategy held 849’327 BTC on Nov 1, 2026. At the price on Nov 12, 2026 ($71’862 per bitcoin), that is about $61.0 billion. Everything that must be paid before and including STRC adds up to about $16.2 billion. That gives STRC a bitcoin coverage of 3.77×.

What that means in bitcoin prices

STRC's coverage would only drop below 1× if bitcoin fell below roughly $19’050 (€17’230, CHF 15’900), a decline of about 73% from the Nov 12, 2026 price.

Compare that with the Power Law model: on Nov 12, 2026, the floor is about $67’060. Even with bitcoin sitting exactly on the floor, Strategy's bitcoin would still be worth about 3.5 times all claims up to STRC. The floor is a model value, not a guarantee; how it is calculated is in the methodology.

The capital structure by issuer shows the coverage of every preferred side by side. The "yield vs. coverage" chart below it places STRC next to STRF, STRK, STRD, STRE and other issuers' preferreds.

STRC preferred stock: the risks

High coverage does not mean you cannot lose money. These are the risks to know:

1. Price risk

STRC is meant to trade around $100, but it doesn't have to. In early summer 2026, the price fell from $98.99 (end of May) to $74.57 on Jun 26, 2026, a drop of about 25%. By the end of September it had recovered to $99.35. Anyone who had to sell in between took a loss. The price since issue is in the price history.

2. Rate risk

Strategy may cut the rate, if only slowly. If US rates fall, the rate can fall faster, but never below the SOFR reference rate. 12% is not a promise for the years ahead.

3. Default and suspension risk

Strategy can suspend dividends. Because STRC is cumulative, missed dividends are made up before common shareholders get anything. But made up does not mean right away. Strategy's software business does not cover the dividends on all its preferreds; Strategy funds them mostly through the capital markets, for example by selling new shares. If the capital markets close to Strategy, this risk grows.

4. Redemption and duration risk

STRC is perpetual. Strategy can redeem STRC at $101, for example if it can raise money more cheaply elsewhere. Your income then ends and you have to reinvest.

5. Currency risk

STRC pays in US dollars. If you live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, both dividend and price move with the dollar. A weaker dollar lowers your income in euros or francs.

6. Taxes

In the US, Strategy treats the distributions as return of capital. That treatment does not automatically apply in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. How the dividend is taxed for you depends on where you live and on your brokerage account; when in doubt, ask a tax adviser.

Rule of thumb: STRC trades bitcoin's upside for a predictable rate. How safe that rate is depends on the bitcoin price and on Strategy's access to the capital markets.

Who STRC suits and who it doesn't

STRC can be interesting if you hold bitcoin for the long term and want a regular dollar income without selling bitcoin. The academy covers the typical questions under Plan and live.

STRC does not suit you if you need your money back safely on a fixed date, can't stomach 25% price swings or don't want dollar exposure. STRC is no substitute for bitcoin in your own custody: you hold a claim on a company, not the coins.

More on Strategy itself, its bitcoin holdings and its mNAV is on the Strategy page. All articles on bitcoin-backed preferred stock are collected in the Digital Credit category, and terms such as stated amount or cumulative are in the Digital Credit glossary.