Institutional Demand for Strategy's Preferred Securities Shakes Up MSTR Short Bet
By John Nada·Feb 26, 2026·9 min read
Institutional interest in Strategy’s preferred securities is rising, potentially changing the dynamics of its heavily shorted common stock, MSTR.
Institutional interest in Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) preferred securities is building at a time when the company’s common stock, MSTR, remains one of the market’s most-watched bearish trades tied to Bitcoin. The clearest signal came this week, when Prevalon Energy and Anchorage Digital said at Strategy World 2026 that they had each allocated part of their corporate treasury to STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock. Those developments matter because they suggest Strategy is finding demand for its capital structure outside the common stock, MSTR, which remains one of the market’s most heavily shorted large-cap names.
Still, Strategy is buying Bitcoin, even as the top crypto trades below the company’s average purchase cost. That combination has kept debate around the stock intense, especially among investors focused on whether the Michael Saylor-led firm's financing model can keep supporting its Bitcoin accumulation strategy without putting more pressure on the common stock. The question, then, is not whether institutional buying in the preferred stack can end shorting in MSTR. It probably cannot. The more important question is whether that demand can gradually improve Strategy’s cost of capital, and in doing so, weaken one of the core arguments behind the short case.
That short case has generally centered on funding. Bulls see Strategy as a leveraged Bitcoin vehicle with multiple financing channels. Bears argue that the equity premium and Bitcoin acquisition strategy only work as long as the market keeps funding the company, and keeps doing it at prices that make the model viable. Right now, the data supports both sides of that argument. Strategy is still buying Bitcoin, while the short base remains in place. In a late February update, Strategy disclosed it bought 592 BTC in the week ending Feb. 22, lifting its total holdings to 717,722 BTC. The company’s average purchase cost sits around $76,000 per coin. With Bitcoin trading below that level in recent sessions, the treasury is sitting on an unrealized loss of nearly $6 billion.
That does not change the long-term thesis for Strategy supporters, but it does shape how the stock is traded in the near term. When Bitcoin weakens, MSTR tends to absorb the stress quickly because investors are not just pricing Bitcoin; they are also pricing leverage, capital access, and the durability of the company’s funding model. At the same time, short sellers have not left. Data from Marketbeats shows about 37.8 million shares (equivalent to more than $5 billion) sold short as of the Feb. 13 settlement date, roughly 14% of the float. That is a meaningful level of bearish positioning, but it is not extreme enough on its own to guarantee a squeeze.
MSTR’s borrow fees have been hovering around 0.41% annualized, with millions of shares available to lend. This means shorts are not under pressure from rising stock-loan costs. If they are forced to cover, it is more likely because price moves against them, or volatility becomes too costly to manage, not because borrow costs spike. This distinction matters because it changes how to interpret institutional interest in Strategy’s preferreds. A growing preferred bid does not automatically trap MSTR shorts. It can, however, alter the economics that shorts are betting against.
Strategy is building a preferred stack to widen its investor base. The company’s common stock remains the higher-volatility instrument for investors who want amplified exposure to Bitcoin. The preferred stack is the other side of that structure, senior securities designed for investors who want yield and a higher claim in the capital structure, with less sensitivity to daily moves in MSTR. STRC is the clearest example. Strategy frames it as a variable-rate preferred with a $100 stated amount, an annualized dividend rate of 11.25% as of February 2026, and monthly adjustments. Strategy has also said STRC has scaled to an aggregate stated amount of $3.4 billion. Alongside that, the company has highlighted a $2.25 billion USD reserve that it says is intended to cover about 2.5 years of preferred dividends and debt interest.
That reserve is central to the pitch. It addresses a straightforward concern for income-oriented investors: whether Strategy can continue paying high coupons without having to sell Bitcoin into weakness. There is also STRK, a convertible perpetual preferred that pays an 8% fixed dividend and is convertible into 0.1 shares of MSTR. On paper, both instruments expand the financing toolkit. In practice, they also help Strategy move closer to something that looks like a corporate credit curve tied to Bitcoin exposure. That is important because it gives the company more than one way to raise capital, and gives investors more than one way to express a view on Strategy.
If that ecosystem matures, it can change how MSTR is valued and how it is shorted. Institutional demand for the preferred stack can cut in two directions. The first path is constructive for the broader Strategy story. If STRC and related preferred issues find stable institutional sponsorship, their effective yields can fall over time, and new issuance can become easier to place. That improves Strategy’s cost of capital. It also reduces the need to rely heavily on common stock issuance when market conditions are weak.
That matters because the most durable short thesis in MSTR is not about one week of Bitcoin price action. It is about funding friction. If bears believe Strategy will eventually face a funding wall, they can stay short through volatility and wait for pressure to build. However, if the company proves it can repeatedly issue preferreds, service obligations, and maintain reserve coverage, that thesis becomes harder to defend. A useful benchmark is the broader high-yield market. The ICE BofA US High Yield Index's effective yield was around 6.5% in late February. STRC’s 11.25% headline dividend rate is roughly 470 basis points higher. That spread shows investors are still demanding a significant premium for Strategy risk. But the spread is also a measurable signal. If it narrows materially over time, and Strategy can issue preferred-like instruments at levels closer to high-yield norms, investors will likely read that as evidence the funding machine is becoming more durable.
In that scenario, MSTR shorts can remain active, but the core fundamental case for betting on financing stress weakens. The second path is less obvious and, in some ways, more important for trading. Institutional demand for preferreds can also reinforce short interest in the common stock, as institutions often hedge. STRK’s conversion feature makes that especially relevant. A buyer can hold STRK for yield and conversion optionality, then hedge equity exposure by shorting MSTR. Even investors in non-convertible preferreds can hedge correlated risk with MSTR shares or options.
In other words, more institutional adoption of Strategy’s preferreds does not necessarily mean lower short interest in MSTR. It can mean a different kind of short interest, one driven less by outright bearishness and more by structured, hedged positioning.
The next 6 to 12 months will likely come down to pricing, not headlines. The key issue now is whether Strategy’s preferred strategy has real product-market fit in institutional credit, or whether demand remains limited to investors willing to accept double-digit yields for a highly specialized Bitcoin-linked risk. There are three broad paths the market could follow. In a constructive setup, Bitcoin stabilizes or moves higher, confidence in Strategy’s reserve framework improves, and preferred yields drift lower. Strategy keeps funding at better terms, and pressure on the equity story eases. MSTR could still carry short interest, but more of it may shift into hedged trades rather than outright directional bets against the company.
In a rangebound setup, Bitcoin trades sideways, and preferred demand remains available only at high yields, around 10% to 12% or more. That keeps Strategy’s cost of capital elevated. In that environment, MSTR shorting remains attractive for investors betting on premium compression and long-run dilution, especially since borrow costs remain low and borrow supply is ample. In a bearish setup, Bitcoin falls again, and preferred buyers either demand higher yields or step back. Strategy may still be able to raise capital, but on more punitive terms. That would put the equity story under more pressure and strengthen the case for shorts who view MSTR as a premium that can compress toward the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
None of these paths depends on a classic short squeeze setup. The current stock-loan profile does not support that as the primary narrative. The real contest is over capital durability. What matters now for shorts, and bulls is that Anchorage and Prevalon's STRC position is meaningful because it is not a direct bullish call on MSTR. It is a sign that institutional investors are willing to engage with Strategy through the senior part of the capital structure, and to treat that exposure as a yield product with a defined risk premium.
That is the larger shift underway. Strategy is not only about selling a stock tied to Bitcoin; it is also about building a full funding stack around BTC, one that includes equity, fixed-income-like preferreds, and convertible preferreds. If that stack gains traction, the company becomes less dependent on any single source of capital. For bulls, that would support the case that Strategy can continue operating its Bitcoin acquisition model through different market regimes. For bears, it does not remove the opportunity, but it changes the terms. The short thesis shifts away from an imminent funding break and toward relative pricing, premium compression, and the possibility that the company still pays too much for capital compared with traditional issuers.
That is why institutional demand for Strategy’s preferreds will not end shorting in MSTR. It can, however, change the game by shifting the fight from a simple squeeze narrative to a more complex debate over credit and equity pricing. The indicators to watch are clear and mostly focus on financing quality. Investors will be watching STRC and STRK pricing, effective yields, the size and use of the $2.25 billion USD reserve, the pace of new issuance, MSTR’s premium to the value of its Bitcoin holdings, and whether short interest rises alongside preferred adoption. If short interest increases while preferred demand also grows, that would be a strong sign that hedged institutional trades are becoming a larger share of the short base. However, if preferred yields compress and issuance expands, that would signal Strategy is winning the more important battle, the one over the cost and durability of capital. In this market, that may matter more than whether shorts disappear.