Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan says Strategy’s relentless bitcoin buying has been the dominant force behind bitcoin’s recent recovery, outpacing contributions from ETF inflows and whale accumulation.
Bitcoin has climbed roughly 21% from its February low of $62,822, trading around $76,500 as of late April.
Strategy’s buying machine
Over the past eight weeks, Strategy added $7.2 billion in bitcoin, making it the single largest corporate accumulator in the market.
Hougan wrote in a note to clients:
“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.”
Strategy’s most recent purchase — 3,273 BTC for $255 million between April 20 and April 26 — pushed its total holdings to 818,334 BTC, surpassing BlackRock’s IBIT, which holds roughly 812,300 coins on behalf of clients.
STRC preferred stock fueling the buys
Hougan believes Strategy’s purchases will continue for some time, driven by the issuance of STRC, the company’s perpetual preferred stock carrying an 11.5% yield.
He wrote:
“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.”
Michael Saylor has previously argued the company can sustain dividend payments indefinitely if bitcoin continues to appreciate.
Hougan noted that at current prices, Strategy could:
“Hypothetically pay existing dividends for 42 years. However, if Bitcoin rises by 20% a year, it could pay the dividends forever.”
Closing in on Satoshi
If Strategy maintains its current pace, Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn estimates it could surpass Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated holdings within two years.
Wallets attributed to Nakamoto hold roughly 1.1 million BTC, representing about 5.5% of the total bitcoin supply.
Strategy would need to acquire another 277,666 coins to match that figure — a gap that looks increasingly bridgeable given the company’s aggressive accumulation pace, though its weekly purchase sizes have varied widely, from as few as 855 BTC in February to 34,164 BTC on April 20.
