Samson Mow sees SATA’s rebound as a catalyst that could drag Strategy’s STRC preferred shares back up to their $100 par value, arguing that the recent price action confirms the underlying “digital credit” model is still intact.
Strive’s SATA preferred stock has climbed almost 16% from its June low, recovering from around $83.30 to roughly $97. That move has brought the security to within about 3% of the level it is designed to track, effectively reversing most of the late-June slide. In contrast, Strategy’s STRC preferred remains depressed, sitting about 13% below par even as large U.S. exchange-traded funds increase their exposure.
According to Mow, CEO of Bitcoin infrastructure firm Jan3, this divergence says more about timing and sentiment than about any fundamental flaw in STRC. He argues that recent actions taken by Bitcoin treasury companies to shore up their balance sheets and support their preferred securities are beginning to restore trust in the structure. SATA’s climb back toward $100, he says, is a visible sign that the funding model used by Strive and Strategy can still work.
“I think every action that Strategy has undertaken to strengthen their balance sheet and encourage STRC to go back to par is also working,” Mow said, adding that investors tend to evaluate these instruments as a group rather than in isolation. In his view, markets are testing whether these Bitcoin-linked preferreds can keep paying dividends and remain anchored near par, even through periods of intense volatility.
Mow expects SATA and STRC to move more closely in step as investors regain confidence. “Everything sort of works in tandem,” he said. “As SATA returns to par, you’re going to see STRC return to par too, because people say, ‘OK, this model’s not broken.’ Everyone is capitalized for three or more years of dividend payments… there was no reason to panic all along.” In other words, if one preferred instrument tied to a Bitcoin treasury company can rebound after a sharp drawdown, markets may assume others can as well.
Strive brought SATA to market in November 2025 as a way to scale its Bitcoin holdings without issuing additional common stock. Instead of diluting existing shareholders with new equity, Strive turned to variable-rate perpetual preferred shares that are engineered to fluctuate around a $100 par value. The core idea is to use dividend adjustments as a stabilizing mechanism: as the market price deviates from par, the payout can be shifted to make the security more or less attractive.
By tweaking the dividend rate when necessary, Strive can influence how investors perceive SATA’s risk-reward profile. A higher yield can draw in buyers when the price falls, while a lower yield can cool demand if the price moves too far above par. This structure is designed to give the company recurring access to capital markets while limiting direct dilution of common shareholders and maintaining a predictable funding base for its Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
Strategy’s STRC, launched in 2025, follows a similar blueprint. It is also a variable-dividend preferred stock pegged to a $100 notional value, which the company classifies under its “digital credit” umbrella. Like SATA, STRC is meant to function as a hybrid between traditional preferred equity and a bond-like instrument, with Bitcoin exposure baked into the issuer’s balance sheet rather than into the security’s terms.
Both products were tested in late June, when a marketwide selloff dragged them well below their targeted levels. While SATA has since rallied to around $97, STRC has been slower to recover. Data show it closed at $86.89 on July 24, up 2.29% on the day, and edged slightly higher to $87.14 in post-market trading. The gap between the two recoveries has raised questions among some investors about whether all Bitcoin-linked preferreds are equally resilient.
Mow, however, frames the lag as a temporary market dislocation rather than a structural problem. In his view, investors are still processing the June drawdown, and the market is repricing risk across the sector at different speeds. SATA’s rebound, he argues, offers a case study that the model can withstand stress, and that STRC could follow once confidence fully returns.
Beyond price action, Mow points to the evolution of how Bitcoin treasury companies are raising capital and managing reserves. He notes that newer entrants are experimenting with different corporate structures, leverage levels and treasury policies to reduce the risk of forced selling or distressed financing. As one example, he highlights Orange Juice, a treasury firm launched on July 15 by analyst Lyn Alden, which he says started with a more conservative cost basis for acquiring Bitcoin and a distinct operational design.
These variations in approach reflect the broader maturation of the “Bitcoin treasury” concept. Companies are no longer simply buying and holding BTC on their balance sheet; they are increasingly integrating capital-market instruments-like variable-rate preferreds-into their long-term funding strategies. Each iteration offers investors a slightly different blend of yield, volatility and exposure to Bitcoin price movements.
On the scale of holdings, Strategy remains the heavyweight. It is ranked as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with a stash of 843,775 BTC. Strive, by comparison, holds 19,921 BTC, placing it significantly lower on the leaderboard but still among the top public companies with Bitcoin on the balance sheet. Those differences in size and leverage translate into different risk profiles for their preferred stock investors.
Despite that gap, both issuers lean heavily on capital-market products to execute their treasury playbooks. For Strive, SATA is a channel to raise fresh capital without issuing more common shares, effectively separating the financing function from direct equity dilution. Strategy uses STRC and a broader suite of securities to fund additional Bitcoin purchases, layering “digital credit” on top of its core equity story.
Institutional demand has already put STRC in a prominent position inside major preferred stock portfolios. It now sits as the largest holding in three notable U.S. preferred stock exchange-traded funds: a flagship preferred and income fund from a large asset manager, a U.S.-focused preferred stock ETF managed by Virtus InfraCap, and a preferred securities fund from VanEck that excludes financial issuers. Together, these funds have accumulated an estimated $756 million worth of STRC.
These ETFs also hold preferred shares from well-established U.S. corporations, meaning their investors receive exposure to Strategy’s Bitcoin-linked preferred alongside more traditional income-generating instruments. For many institutions and advisors, this offers a way to access a Bitcoin-tilted credit product within a familiar fund wrapper, without buying the security outright.
Strategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor has presented this ETF adoption as evidence that “digital credit” is moving into mainstream institutional portfolios. The scale of the allocations suggests that asset managers are willing to assign meaningful capital to STRC, even though it has not yet closed the gap to its $100 par value. On July 24, the security still traded 13.11% below par, underscoring the tension between growing institutional ownership and persistent market discounting.
That discount is not a trivial issue for Strategy. The company relies on issuing preferred stock like STRC as a source of capital to fund additional Bitcoin purchases and other corporate needs. When STRC trades well below par, it becomes more expensive and less efficient to raise money by selling new shares at current market prices. The lower the price, the more shares Strategy must issue to obtain the same amount of capital, effectively increasing the cost of funding and potentially dampening investor enthusiasm for future offerings.
From the perspective of existing STRC holders, the discount can cut both ways. On one hand, a price under par raises questions about perceived risk-whether related to Bitcoin volatility, the issuer’s leverage or the stability of future dividends. On the other hand, if Mow’s thesis plays out and STRC eventually closes the gap to $100 as SATA has nearly done, today’s prices could represent an opportunity to lock in higher yields and potential price appreciation.
The dynamics of these Bitcoin-linked preferreds also highlight a broader debate around the sustainability of the model. Supporters argue that as long as issuers maintain conservative enough balance sheets, secure several years’ worth of dividend coverage and avoid forced selling of Bitcoin into weak markets, the structure can function much like traditional preferred equity with a long-term upside kicker tied to BTC. Critics worry that sharp, prolonged drawdowns in Bitcoin could stress the system, especially if companies rely too heavily on capital markets that might seize up during a crisis.
Variable-rate dividends are central to managing that tension. By adjusting payouts, issuers can attempt to keep prices anchored near par and reassure investors of ongoing income, even when underlying asset prices are volatile. However, this also means investors must closely monitor not just Bitcoin’s trajectory, but also each company’s willingness and capacity to sustain elevated distributions over time.
Looking ahead, the performance of SATA and STRC is likely to serve as a benchmark for future Bitcoin treasury financing structures. If both securities manage to migrate back toward par and maintain that level through subsequent market cycles, it would strengthen the case for “digital credit” as a viable funding tool for Bitcoin-heavy balance sheets. That outcome could encourage more companies to experiment with similar instruments, broadening the category and deepening liquidity.
Conversely, if discounts persist or widen, issuers may be forced to rethink how they tap capital markets-potentially returning to more traditional debt, equity or convertible structures. For now, Mow remains firmly in the camp that views the recent turbulence as a stress test rather than a failure, and he is betting that SATA’s recovery is an early sign that investor confidence in Bitcoin-linked preferred shares is on its way back.