Strategy Inc's Dividend Burden Raises Financial Risk, Putting Bitcoin's $60,000 Level at Risk [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] As financial risks tied to the dividend burden on preferred shares issued by digital asset treasury company Strategy Inc (MSTR) come into focus, Bitcoin is coming under pressure as negative U.S. macroeconomic factors add to the strain.
According to industry sources on the 26th, Bitcoin fell to the $58,000 range intraday as hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and inflation concerns weighed on the market. Capital outflows have also accelerated, with about $6.4 billion in net withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the past 30 days.
One of the direct triggers behind recent market anxiety is the dividend risk stemming from STRC, a preferred stock issued by Strategy Inc. STRC was designed to target a fixed price of $100 and functions like a perpetual preferred share whose stated dividend rate can be adjusted at the issuer's discretion.
According to NH Investment & Securities, STRC's stated dividend rate started at 9% at the initial offering but has recently been raised to 11.5%. Even after the increase, the stock price has fallen from $100 to $80.84. As a result, the market dividend yield has risen to 14.23%.
Industry watchers say it is reasonable to compare STRC with CCC-rated corporate bond yields when assessing its fair value, since it is effectively treated as a bond-like product. Given that CCC-rated corporate bond yields are currently around 12.32%, STRC, as a subordinated security, would need to maintain a market dividend yield of at least 13% to 14% to remain attractive to investors.
Hong Sung-wook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "To restore STRC's price to its target of $100, the stated dividend rate would need to be raised further to above 14%." He added, "Unless Bitcoin prices or Strategy Inc's share price rebound, the dividend noise stemming from STRC is unlikely to be resolved easily."
Strategy Inc's credit rating, as assessed by Standard & Poor's (S&P), stood at 'B-' as of December last year. At the time, Bitcoin was trading around $85,000, so analysts now say it is more appropriate to compare STRC with CCC-rated corporate bond yields, reflecting both Bitcoin's subsequent decline and the preferred stock's subordinated structure.
Macroeconomic headwinds that are weighing on the broader asset market are also dominant. The recently released U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for May showed inflation topping 4% for the first time in three years, sharply dampening expectations for an early rate cut.
Even spot ETF inflows, which had served as a support for the virtual asset market, are now rapidly reversing. According to KB Securities, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of $740 million over the past week from the 18th to the 24th, while spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net outflows of $180 million. On a cumulative basis over the past 30 days, spot Bitcoin ETFs alone have seen about $6.4 billion leave the market.
Kim Ji-won, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Investor sentiment has cooled sharply as hawkish Fed policy and Strategy Inc's financial risks emerged at the same time."

elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter