On June 3, 2025, Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy) introduced a new perpetual called Stride (STRD). The stock will allow investors to get a 10% yield from Bitcoin without buying it directly, while Strategy will get cash to buy more Bitcoin. The new stock received a mixed reception from the crypto community.
What is Stride?
Following the release of Strife and Strike, Strategy introduced a new preferred stock offering, Series A Preferred Stock Stride (STRD). Stride is a 10% noncallable non-cumulative perpetual. Its fixed dividend of 10% is above Strike’s 8% dividend, but has a lower seniority if compared to Strife, which has a 10% dividend too.
Stride is a significant addition to Strategy’s so-called three-piston Bitcoin engine, conceived of common stock MSTR and two other preferred stocks, Strike (STRK) and Strife (STRF). This engine was supposed to ensure maximizing Strategy’s profits by playing with Bitcoin’s scarcity and volatility. Seemingly, Strategy found a way to improve this engine by supplementing it with a fourth element.
Stride is fee-free and has a higher yield than most ETFs. This makes it attractive for long-term investors. Stride may be repurchased if the fundamental change takes place or for taxes-related purposes. STRD dividends are discretionary and are paid when the Strategy board makes a declaration.
What are the concerns?
The new stock offering was perceived as proof of Strategy’s troubled state by some on the Crypto Twitter. Critics believe that the company is running out of cash and trying to find a way to make quick money.
More than that, CEO and co-founder of CoinBureau, Nic Puckrin, took to X to ask questions regarding the Stride offering. He is interested in the origin of the funds needed to pay dividends, assumes that the new perpetual may dilute common stock if the latter is used to fund STRD, and asks if there is a risk that Strategy will have to sell Bitcoin if the equity is not sold. On top of that, while not saying “Ponzi Scheme,” Puckrin questioned whether it is a good idea to pay current investors with funds taken from future investors. A Bitcoin enthusiast, Shanaka Anslem Perera, responding to these questions via an X post, claimed the offering has clear Ponzi vibes.
The $4.22 billion net loss admitted by Strategy in the first quarter of 2025 only fuels skepticism. If Strategy dumps MSTR stock to fund dividends for STRD investors, it creates tension within the Bitcoin engine and potentially hurts MSTR stock investors.
Why do some say Stride is a genius move?
At a current Bitcoin price of over $100,000, Strategy’s $8+ billion debt is not considered a problem. According to Goldman Sachs, investors will stop investing in Strategy only if, by 2027, the BTC price declines by half. That’s why there are many optimistic comments from people who don’t see Stride stock offering as a sign of the inability of Strategy to gain cash for purchasing more Bitcoin or pay off its debt.
Adam Livingston, MSTR investor and author of The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest, posted a series of tweets explaining the genius behind the new stock. However, it’s notable how he emphasizes how good the move is for Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman of Strategy. Livingston puts it that way:
“Saylor gets cheap capital, no dilution, optional payments, and can nuke it whenever he wants.”
Livingston claims that yield serves as a disguise for Bitcoin accumulation. He points out that Strategy will not be obliged to pay dividends if things are getting out of hand and argues that STRD doesn’t dilute the float.
According to him, the new stock is not for bitcoiners, but rather for people who feel reluctant to own Bitcoin but want to yield on BTC. Institutional allocators and pension funds may find STRD interesting, too.
Livingston outlines that STRD offering is a 10% yield for the more TradFi people, while the Bitcoin veterans will rather see it as cheap capital to reduce the market supply. Earlier, Livingstone claimed that Strategy is rewriting Bitcoin’s scarcity, creating a synthetic halving. Although these financial equilibristics raise questions about Bitcoin’s decentralization and the original anti-Wallet Street ethos, it seems that from Michael Saylor’s standpoint, Strategy just cemented its status even better.
