Bitcoin treasury company Strategy and its perpetual preferred stock, STRC, have been the “single biggest factor” in the recent rally of Bitcoin, which has jumped 20% from its February low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.
Over the past eight weeks, Strategy has added $7.2 billion in Bitcoin, Hougan said in a report published Tuesday.
“Yes, there have been multiple drivers of the recent rally, including strong buying from ETFs, $3.8 billion since March 1, and renewed purchases by long-term holders. But Strategy has been the single biggest factor,” he said.
Bitcoin has traded between $75,849 and $79,321 over the past seven days, according to CoinGecko. It was trading at about $76,486 as of Wednesday, up 21% from its Feb. 6 low of $62,822.
Strategy is the largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holder. It bought 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million between April 20 and April 26, bringing total holdings to 818,334 BTC.
Source: Lookonchain
Bitcoin buys are set to continue, analyst says
Strategy typically makes weekly Bitcoin purchases. Its latest buying spree pushed its total holdings past those of global asset manager BlackRock, which holds about 812,300 coins on behalf of its clients.
Hougan speculates that Strategy’s purchases will “continue for some time to come,” driven by the issuance of STRC, the company’s perpetual preferred stock, which pays a fixed dividend to investors for as long as the company operates.
“Strategy issues STRC because it wants to buy more Bitcoin. Most of the capital raised by issuing STRC is used to purchase BTC on the open market,” he said.
Related: 80% of Strategy’s ‘Stretch’ buyers are mom-and-pop investors
“With junk bonds yielding less than 7% and investors fleeing private credit, STRC’s 11.5% yield — backed by a more than $40 billion bitcoin cushion — looks particularly attractive. I suspect Strategy will raise billions more through STRC,” Hougan added.
Saylor has previously claimed that the company can sustain dividend payments indefinitely if Bitcoin continues to grow.
Hougan said that at current prices, Strategy could…
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