Key Highlights
- Strategy CEO Phong Le said institutional ownership of STRC has risen sharply while retail participation has declined.
- Average institutional holdings more than doubled to $3.5 million, according to updated company data.
- Peter Schiff argued retail investors likely sold at a loss and questioned whether institutions are making bullish bets.
Gold advocate and longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff slammed Strategy CEO Phong Le’s latest update on the company’s STRC preferred stock, arguing that the decline in retail ownership likely reflects investors selling at a loss rather than a healthy transition toward institutional ownership.
Responding to Le’s post on X, Schiff rejected the idea that rising institutional participation signals growing confidence in Strategy or Bitcoin. Instead, he suggested institutions may simply be attracted by STRC’s high dividend yield or using the security as part of hedged trading strategies rather than making outright bullish bets.
His comments came after Le published updated ownership statistics showing that retail ownership of STRC declined from 78% in March to 71% in July, while institutional participation continued to increase.
According to Le, the average institutional position more than doubled, rising 105% to approximately $3.5 million, which he described as evidence that professional investors are steadily building larger positions.
Le argued the changing shareholder mix reflects increasing institutional adoption as STRC matures.
Many STRC investors remain underwater
Schiff’s criticism comes as STRC continues trading below its original $100 par value.
Launched earlier this year as part of Strategy’s preferred-stock financing program, STRC fell sharply after listing and eventually reached a low near $71 before recovering.
As of July 24, STRC trades around $86.82, according to Strategy’s investor dashboard, leaving investors who purchased the security near launch still facing unrealized losses of roughly 13% despite the recent rebound.
After the decline, Strategy increased STRC’s annualized dividend rate to 12% in late June under its Digital Credit Capital Framework, which also introduced policies requiring cash reserves to support preferred dividend payments.
The preferred stock currently offers an effective yield of approximately 13.82%, making it increasingly attractive to income-focused investors.
Institutional demand continues despite volatility
Despite STRC’s price remaining below par, institutional demand has continued to grow.
Earlier this month, VanEck disclosed a $207 million STRC position through its PFXF ETF, making the preferred stock one of the fund’s largest holdings.
Because PFXF specifically invests in higher-yielding preferred securities outside the financial sector, the purchase suggests that at least part of the institutional demand may be driven by income-focused investment mandates rather than expectations for Bitcoin appreciation.
Le’s latest ownership figures appear consistent with that broader trend, showing institutional allocations increasing even as retail participation has eased.
Crypto X divided over STRC ownership shift
Schiff’s comments sparked fresh debate across Crypto X, where several users challenged both Strategy’s messaging and Schiff’s interpretation.
One user pushed back against Le’s institutional ownership narrative, writing:
“You sir are incompetent. Are you forgetting you need your common shareholders in order for the preferred shareholders to even exist?”
Another user defended Strategy while criticizing Schiff directly:
“All your theories prove you have no idea.”
Others were more sympathetic to Schiff’s concerns.
“I agree with you Peter. There’s been some major reputational damage on this product and I wonder how management plans on fixing this.”
The reactions highlight the broader disagreement over what STRC’s ownership shift actually represents. While Strategy points to rising institutional participation as evidence of growing acceptance, Schiff argues the data could just as easily reflect retail investors exiting at a loss while professional investors chase double-digit yields through structured strategies.
As Strategy continues funding its Bitcoin treasury through preferred-stock offerings, STRC is likely to remain one of the market’s most closely watched crypto-linked income products.
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