Strategy’s preferred stock STRC is now a larger buyer of Bitcoin ($BTC) in peak weeks than every US spot ETF combined.
However, unlike ETF flows, it only moves in one direction, and that asymmetry, according to a recent analysis by on-chain researchers at Pine Analytics, is why STRC’s volatility is becoming one of the most important variables for a sustained move higher for $BTC.
One-Way Flow vs. Two-Way Traffic
In a report it shared on May 27, Pine Analytics made its argument, comparing STRC $BTC buying and ETFs. According to the firm, during the week of March 9-15, 2026, STRC’s at-the-market share sales generated $1.18 billion, which Strategy used to buy 17,994 $BTC at an average price of $70,946.
In the same week, all 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in approximately $763 million combined, meaning STRC alone beat the entire $BTC ETF complex.
However, the more important point that Pine’s analysts mentioned was structural, with ETF flows usually going in two directions and Strategy’s STRC in one. For example, on January 29, the ETFs posted net outflows of $817.8 million, meaning authorized participants sold Bitcoin into the market to meet redemptions. That’s a mechanism STRC doesn’t have. When holders of the stock sell, they do so in the equity market, and Strategy never touches its Bitcoin stash.
“STRC does not exist to pay a dividend. It exists to buy Bitcoin,” the market watchers wrote. “The dividend is the cost of keeping the machines running.”
More importantly, they pointed out that every dollar used to buy an STRC share creates a Bitcoin bid, while no amount of STRC selling can create a $BTC ask. And that’s the structural difference: ETFs drain Bitcoin liquidity, and STRC physically cannot.
Additionally, the report mentioned that Strategy can only issue new STRC shares when they are trading at or above $100, with anything raised above the $100 par going directly to buying Bitcoin. It means that the issuance is entirely dependent on price stability.
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Why Volatility Is the Main Variable
But the connection goes deeper than par mechanics, seeing as in leverage markets, lower volatility means smaller haircuts, which means more borrowing capacity per dollar held, which pulls in more institutional capital into the position.
Looking at STRC, since it was launched, its 30-day rolling volatility has compressed from 18% to about 2%, meaning every institution holding it could size up. And more capital coming in would mean more ATM issuance, more Bitcoin buys, and a stronger balance sheet for Strategy, which would then lead to a more stable STRC. It’s essentially a loop that compounds on its own track record.
As of the latest data from Strategy’s website, the 30-day historical volatility is near 4.2%, with STRC priced just below par at $99.47. That sub-par print matters, and a BitcoinQuant chart cited in a follow-up post by Pine shows visible price pressure across the preferred series since March, with the firm saying, “this does not look good.”
The fragility can be consequential, as was seen earlier in the year, when a routine ex-dividend dip paused issuance and collapsed weekly $BTC purchases from 17,994 to just 1,031. And a real credit event, where the peg breaks and stays broken, would shut down the ATM program entirely and remove one of the largest systemic bids in the Bitcoin market.
