MicroStrategy CEO Exposes STRC Preferred Shares Attracting 80% Retail Investors: A High-Yield Alternative Investment in Bitcoin

MicroStrategy CEO Phong Le revealed today that retail investors have officially become the main buyers of MicroStrategy’s STRC preferred shares. This financial product, based on Bitcoin yields with an annual interest rate of up to 11%, provides investors with a safe haven in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market.

Phong Le: 80% of STRC holders are retail investors, demand is unexpectedly strong

Phong Le posted on social media platform X, indicating that approximately 80% of the holders of the “Stretch (code STRC)” preferred shares are retail investors. This figure shows that, despite Bitcoin currently being down nearly 45% from its historical peak, the general public’s interest in Bitcoin-related assets remains strong.

~ 40% of $MSTR shares are owned by retail. ~ 80% of $STRC shares are owned by retail. Retail investors prefer low-volatility, high-yield digital credit.

— Phong Le (@phongle) March 26, 2026

Le noted that these investors generally prefer “low-volatility and high-yield” digital credit instruments, and Stretch’s product design perfectly meets this demand. In March of this year, MicroStrategy raised approximately $1.2 billion through STRC market sales, using all the funds to purchase Bitcoin.

Saylor strongly promotes STRC: letting retail investors ride the Bitcoin wave

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has been actively advocating for its STRC product in several public forums. Recently, at the 2026 Digital Asset Summit held in New York, he stated that Stretch’s core idea is “to create an entry point for those who believe in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects but cannot withstand short-term volatility.”

Saylor explained its operational logic: STRC will carve out approximately 10% to 11% of Bitcoin’s annual returns and directly distribute it to STRC holders as dividends; MicroStrategy itself bets that Bitcoin’s annual appreciation will exceed this threshold, and the excess portion will belong to common stock shareholders. He emphasized that STRC is over-collateralized and structurally has certain protective mechanisms.

STRC offers an annual dividend of 11.5%, far surpassing the appeal of U.S. government bonds

Currently, STRC offers about 11.5% annualized dividends, significantly more attractive compared to the current yield of approximately 4% for U.S. government bonds. In terms of product design, STRC attempts to anchor the trading price around $100, positioning it similarly to high-yield savings accounts.

It is worth noting that STRC, as a perpetual instrument, has no maturity date, meaning MicroStrategy does not need to repay principal like traditional bonds. Investors can hold indefinitely and receive dividends. However, dividends are at a floating rate, adjusted monthly according to market conditions, and are not guaranteed fixed returns.

MSTR common stock plummets, company turns to preferred stock for fundraising

The shift from common stock MSTR to STRC has its reasons, as the MSTR stock price has dropped about 19% year-to-date, with a staggering 71% decline from its peak in July 2025, making its stock performance unsatisfactory.

In response, MicroStrategy announced in February this year that it would rely more on preferred stock sales to raise funds for purchasing Bitcoin and submitted documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week, revealing plans to raise up to $21 billion each in common stock and STRC preferred stock through a new market issuance scheme, totaling up to $42 billion.

(MicroStrategy launches a $44.1 billion fundraising plan, undeterred by a $3.8 billion unrealized loss in Bitcoin holdings)

This article, “MicroStrategy CEO exposes STRC preferred shares attracting 80% retail investors: a high-yield alternative for investing in Bitcoin,” first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.