Crypto Biz: The price of Bitcoin accumulation
Strategy faces pressure from CryptoQuant to halt Bitcoin acquisitions amid declining dividend coverage. In other news, CBOE explores perpetual crypto futures while Chainlink partners on stablecoin forex initiative.
During the past week, blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant has questioned the sustainability of Michael Saylor's Strategy approach, calling on the firm to halt its Bitcoin acquisition program and focus on replenishing cash holdings. This recommendation emerged following a dramatic decline in dividend coverage, which dropped from approximately seven years down to merely 14 months.
While Strategy doesn't face any immediate liquidity crisis, the alert from CryptoQuant has brought renewed attention to the financial framework underpinning its Bitcoin accumulation approach. As cash holdings diminish and dividend commitments grow larger, the company's capacity to continue financing additional purchases is coming under heightened examination.
The remaining segments of this week's Crypto Biz highlight the ongoing transformation across the sector. CBOE is evaluating the launch of perpetual futures for Bitcoin and Ether, Chainlink has partnered with financial institutions in Europe and Korea on foreign exchange settlement using stablecoins, and Zcash mining operation Fortitude is pursuing a Nasdaq listing via an unexpected combination with a medical technology firm.
CryptoQuant urges Strategy to pause Bitcoin buying as dividend coverage drops to 14 months
In the opening days of this week, CryptoQuant made the case that Strategy's relentless Bitcoin buying strategy has grown more challenging to maintain, calling on the organization to strengthen its cash position following a sharp reduction in dividend coverage that plummeted from approximately seven years to a mere 14 months.
Chief Executive Officer Ki Young Ju noted that Strategy's available cash has weakened as yearly dividend commitments jumped to $1.2 billion in the wake of substantial issuances of STRC preferred stock that carry an 11.5% yield. Although Strategy's cash position bounced back to approximately $1.4 billion following recent sales of MSTR shares, it still shows a 38% decline year-to-date after the organization bought back $1.5 billion worth of its 2029 senior notes.
This cautionary message arrives at a time when Strategy's capital raising approach confronts extra challenges. STRC preferred stock recently dropped by as much as 17.5% beneath their $100 par value, constraining the firm's capability to generate new funding through further preferred equity offerings.
CBOE considers converting Bitcoin and Ether futures into perpetual contracts
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is examining a proposal to transform its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures offerings into perpetual futures products, based on reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
This possible transition comes on the heels of fresh regulatory developments after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted approval for crypto perpetual futures to Kalshi and established a regulatory framework enabling other registered exchanges to launch comparable offerings.
CBOE introduced its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures products in December of last year, featuring contracts that stretch out as long as 10 years. In contrast to conventional futures instruments, perpetual contracts lack an expiration date, enabling market participants to hold leveraged exposures for an unlimited duration. These products initially gained popularity through crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX and have subsequently achieved widespread adoption across both centralized platforms and decentralized marketplaces.
Zcash miner Fortitude to go public through Nasdaq merger with HeartSciences
Fortitude Mining Holdings, which operates Zcash mining infrastructure, is preparing to become a publicly traded entity via an all-stock combination with medical device manufacturer HeartSciences, uniting two organizations from completely disparate sectors.
This combination will enable Fortitude to obtain a Nasdaq listing without going through a conventional initial public offering process, while existing shareholders of HeartSciences will maintain a minority ownership position in the merged entity. After completing the transaction, the combined business will function under the Fortitude brand and is anticipated to commence trading on Nasdaq using the ticker symbol TUDE, pending regulatory clearance.
News of the transaction drove HeartSciences stock prices higher by as much as 91% during Tuesday's trading session. Prior to this merger agreement, the medical technology business remained in the red financially, recording an $8.77 million net loss during fiscal year 2025 even as it made progress on its product development initiatives.
Chainlink joins European and Korean banking groups to explore stablecoin FX settlement
Chainlink has become part of a cross-border banking collaboration involving European and South Korean financial entities to investigate whether regulated stablecoins denominated in euros and won can facilitate instantaneous foreign exchange settlement operations.
Operating under the name Project Pangea, this collaborative effort unites South Korean digital asset infrastructure provider FairSquareLab, the Unified Korea Alliance (UniKA), Qivalis and Chainlink to assess atomic swap mechanisms utilizing blockchain-powered settlement systems.
Instead of deploying a functioning payment infrastructure, Project Pangea will investigate the potential for tokenized currencies to enhance wholesale financial market operations, where the worldwide foreign exchange marketplace processes an estimated $9.6 trillion in daily transaction volume. This collaborative effort demonstrates increasing attention from banking institutions toward leveraging stablecoins and tokenized deposit instruments to upgrade cross-border settlement processes, minimize operational friction and enhance overall efficiency.
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