Strategy's Ongoing Acquisitions Drive Bitcoin's Latest Price Surge, Says Bitwise CIO Hougan
The primary catalyst behind Bitcoin's recovery from February's lowest points has been consistent buying activity from Strategy, the treasury company led by Michael Saylor, states Matt Hougan, Bitwise's chief investment officer.
The corporate Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, along with its perpetual preferred stock offering STRC, has emerged as the "single biggest factor" driving Bitcoin's current upward momentum, which has seen the cryptocurrency surge 20% from the lows reached in February, says Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.
During the last eight weeks, Strategy has accumulated $7.2 billion worth of Bitcoin, Hougan noted in a Tuesday report.
Yes, there have been multiple drivers of the recent rally, including strong buying from ETFs, $3.8 billion since March 1, and renewed purchases by long-term holders. But Strategy has been the single biggest factor.
The cryptocurrency has fluctuated in a range between $75,849 and $79,321 during the past seven days, data from CoinGecko shows. On Wednesday, it was changing hands at approximately $76,486, marking a 21% increase from the Feb. 6 low of $62,822.
As the largest corporate Bitcoin holder among publicly traded companies, Strategy acquired 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million during the period spanning April 20 through April 26, elevating its total reserves to 818,334 BTC.
Bitcoin buys are set to continue, analyst says
Strategy follows a pattern of weekly Bitcoin acquisitions. The company's most recent buying activity has pushed its aggregate holdings beyond those of global asset management giant BlackRock, which maintains approximately 812,300 coins in custody for its client base.
According to Hougan's analysis, Strategy's purchasing activity will likely "continue for some time to come," propelled by the ongoing issuance of STRC, the firm's perpetual preferred stock instrument, which provides a fixed dividend distribution to investors throughout the company's operational lifespan.
Strategy issues STRC because it wants to buy more Bitcoin. Most of the capital raised by issuing STRC is used to purchase BTC on the open market.
With junk bonds yielding less than 7% and investors fleeing private credit, STRC's 11.5% yield — backed by a more than $40 billion bitcoin cushion — looks particularly attractive. I suspect Strategy will raise billions more through STRC.
Saylor has made prior claims that the enterprise can maintain dividend distributions without interruption provided Bitcoin's value trajectory continues upward.
According to Hougan's calculations, based on present market valuations, Strategy could "hypothetically pay existing dividends for 42 years." Nevertheless, if Bitcoin appreciates by 20% annually, the company could "pay the dividends forever."
Strategy could surpass Satoshi soon
Maintaining its current acquisition velocity, Strategy's Bitcoin reserves could eclipse those attributed to Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto within the coming two years, according to projections from Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency-focused financial services company.
Digital wallets thought to belong to Nakamoto contain 1.1 billion Bitcoin, accounting for approximately 5.5% of the cryptocurrency's total supply. To reach parity with Nakamoto's holdings, Strategy would need to acquire an additional 277,666 coins.
That said, Strategy's Bitcoin acquisition volumes have demonstrated considerable variation. The company's smallest purchase in 2026 amounted to 855 Bitcoin during February, whereas the largest acquisition to date this year occurred on April 20 with 34,164 coins.