Anchorage Digital has taken a visible step beyond “custody-only” by disclosing that it holds Strategy Inc.’s perpetual preferred security, STRC, in a position reported on Feb. 25, 2026. By putting a Bitcoin-linked, yield-oriented corporate security on its own balance sheet—and calling it a long-term allocation—Anchorage is signaling that regulated crypto banks are starting to participate directly in Bitcoin-adjacent capital structures, not just safeguard them.
STRC is a Nasdaq-listed perpetual preferred issued by Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. to support continued Bitcoin purchases. The instrument is structured to sit ahead of Strategy’s common stock for dividends and liquidation priority and currently carries a variable annualized dividend set by the issuer at 11.25% on a $100 stated amount, paid monthly in cash.
Conviction compounds.
Institutions don’t just talk about Bitcoin, they structure around it.
Today, @Anchorage Digital has announced it holds $STRC, @Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, on our balance sheet.
When the company that operationalizes Bitcoin infrastructure puts…
— Nathan McCauley ⚓ (@nathanmccauley) February 25, 2026
Why Anchorage’s disclosure is a meaningful market signal
Anchorage’s position functions like an institutional endorsement of Strategy’s funding playbook: using equity and preferred issuance to expand a corporate Bitcoin treasury. Nathan McCauley, Anchorage’s CEO, framed the allocation as “conviction compounding,” which positions the purchase as strategic exposure rather than a short-term trade.
It also highlights a portfolio preference that’s becoming more relevant in institutional crypto: yield-bearing hybrid instruments that are regulated, exchange-listed, and designed to behave differently than spot Bitcoin or common equity. In other words, STRC is being treated as a distinct sleeve—income-first exposure with a Bitcoin-linked credit backdrop.
The actual risk profile is still “crypto-adjacent,” not “crypto-free”
Even with a coupon-like framing, STRC is not a deposit product and it doesn’t inherit bank-style protections. STRC has no maturity and dividends are discretionary, meaning Strategy can adjust or suspend payments, and the security is not FDIC insured and sits behind debt in a bankruptcy scenario.
Because it’s perpetual, the price sensitivity to macro conditions matters as much as the headline yield: interest rates, call dynamics, and reinvestment risk can all reshape outcomes for holders. And while STRC targets income and par-like behavior, its credit and market value ultimately hinge on Strategy’s financial condition and Bitcoin reserves, which keeps a direct line to BTC volatility.
The distribution footprint is also expanding: the same preferred is referenced as the underlying asset for a 21Shares ETP in Europe, widening access to the yield exposure. That matters operationally because it broadens the buyer base and can change liquidity and price behavior versus a niche institutional instrument.
Why this ties back to Bitcoin demand mechanics
Strategy’s model explicitly links capital markets to spot accumulation, and the reporting references continued purchases, including 2,486 BTC bought for about $168.4 million on Feb. 17, 2026. That creates a feedback loop: issuance capacity supports buying, buying supports the treasury narrative, and the treasury narrative supports demand for the next funding instrument.
For traders and treasury managers, the takeaway is that STRC is its own exposure class: income-oriented, but still responsive to BTC, dividend discretion, and rates. Anchorage’s disclosure makes it harder to dismiss these instruments as edge products, and it puts dividend policy, Strategy’s accumulation cadence, and macro rate moves at the center of how this “yield on Bitcoin linkage” trade gets priced.
