Strategy's STRC hits record $1.5B single-day trading volume

Strategy's variable-rate Series A perpetual preferred stock, STRC (also referred to as Stretch), posted a record single-day trading volume on Thursday, with liquidity reaching about $1.53 billion, CoinDesk reported. Data from STRC.live suggests the day's activity could theoretically enable the company to raise roughly $735.4 million, enough to buy about 9,066 bitcoins at prevailing prices. The tracker cautioned, however, that there is no guarantee Strategy will deploy any Stretch proceeds to purchase Bitcoin. Strategy has ramped up acquisitions after a February slowdown. Since April, it has added 56,770 bitcoins, and since March it has purchased 101,147 bitcoins in total. Perpetual preferred stock has increasingly become a favored funding tool for corporate Bitcoin treasuries, particularly in a bear market where raising capital through senior convertible bonds or at-the-market equity offerings can be more challenging. On Strategy's Q1 earnings call on May 5, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the company is working to position Stretch as "the world's largest credit facility." Other Bitcoin treasury firms have pursued similar approaches. Strive said Thursday that investors in its variable-rate Series A perpetual preferred shares, SATA, will begin receiving daily dividends starting June 16, a more frequent payout schedule than Strategy's monthly distributions. In Japan, Tokyo-based Metaplanet has also raised funds via perpetual preferred shares such as MARS and MERCURY to support Bitcoin purchases. Nearly 200 publicly traded companies still hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets. Strategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with 818,869 bitcoins worth about $66.5 billion at current prices. Bitcoin recently climbed to $81,000, above Strategy's average purchase price of $75,543, implying an unrealized gain of about 7.2% on its holdings.