MicroStrategy vs. Bitcoin: Who Won the 1-Year Performance Duel?

Michael Saylor published a one-year performance chart on Sunday showing that Strategy Preferred Stock outpaced Bitcoin. STRC gained 9% while Bitcoin (BTC) fell 47%.

The comparison runs from August 14, 2025, through August 14, 2026. It measures four Strategy credit instruments against the single asset backing the entire company.

Why Strategy Preferred Stock Held Up Better Than Bitcoin

Strategy issues four preferred securities, each of which pays income rather than tracking Bitcoin directly. STRC, formally the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, currently pays 12% annually in twice-monthly cash dividends.

The company moves that rate up or down to hold STRC near its $100 par value. However, the security slipped under par this summer. Therefore, Strategy sold 1,690 Bitcoin in August to fund STRC share buybacks.

The other three instruments lagged STRC. STRD fell 8%, STRF lost 9%, and STRK dropped 27%. Still, every one of them beat Bitcoin by a wide margin. Cash dividends and distributions cushioned part of each decline.

STRK explains that spread. Each share converts into 0.1 shares of MSTR, so it tracks the common stock more closely than the others do. None of the four carry a claim on Strategy’s Bitcoin.

Critics question how long the company can carry that payout load. Arca Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman warned in May that a $15 billion preferred stack strains the Bitcoin flywheel.

Over the past year, $BTC fell 47%. Our Digital Credit instruments ranged from -27% to +9%, with $STRC up 9%. Financial engineering can transform volatile Digital Capital into instruments designed for income, stability, and reduced downside risk. pic.twitter.com/ZtiRoeIsBA

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) August 16, 2026

The Number Missing From Saylor’s Chart

The graphic leaves out MSTR, Strategy’s common stock. That omission matters. MSTR closed at $93.04 on August 14, roughly 75% below its level a year earlier, according to Yahoo Finance data.

The stock touched $367.57 at its 52-week high. Today it changes hands near the floor of that range. Common shareholders absorbed the leverage, while preferred holders collected the income.

In contrast, Bitcoin’s current price sat near $63,072 on Sunday, still deep inside a bear market that began last autumn.

Strategy has also flipped into a net seller. The company added 37 Bitcoin across two months, then sold 1,638 coins in a single week. Meanwhile, its treasury now sits at a lower level than it did in May.

Saylor addressed the credit risk head-on last week. His new model publishes floor prices for creditors, naming the Bitcoin levels where each security breaks.

The engineering worked as advertised for over 12 months. It turned one volatile asset into four calmer income streams. Whether those streams hold through a second year of falling Bitcoin prices is the question facing holders now.