Strategy’s STRC emerging as ‘backbone’ of yield-backed stablecoin ecosystem: Benchmark

Benchmark sees Strategy's (MSTR) flagship preferred stock, STRC, beginning to serve as the foundation for a new class of yield-backed stablecoin and savings-token protocols tied to the bitcoin economy.

In a research note to clients on Wednesday, Benchmark equity analyst Mark Palmer described STRC as the "backbone of an ecosystem of yield-backed stablecoin protocols," arguing the instrument is evolving from a funding tool for bitcoin purchases into a larger piece of financial infrastructure.

STRC was originally introduced as part of Strategy’s capital-raising framework for acquiring additional bitcoin. The perpetual preferred shares pay monthly dividends and have a dividend rate that adjusts to encourage trading around their $100 par value.

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor recently said the company increased STRC’s dividend to 11.5% for March, up from 11.25%, according to the company's website. But Palmer says the instrument's role is expanding across crypto markets.

Capturing STRC yield

Executives from several financial infrastructure startups discussed integrating STRC into token-based financial products during sessions at the Strategy World conference in Las Vegas last week.

One example is Buck Labs’ dollar-pegged BUCK savings token, which allocates reserves to STRC to generate returns that can be distributed to users. Buck Labs’ head of treasury described STRC as a “critical yield source” for its architecture.

Saturn Labs, which is developing the USDat stablecoin protocol, is also experimenting with a hybrid collateral model combining U.S. Treasury bills with Strategy’s preferred shares. Saturn CEO Kevin Li described STRC as "one of the first digital credit primitives that can anchor stablecoin yield in the bitcoin economy."

Another project called Apyx is building what it calls a dividend-backed stablecoin system that sources yield from preferred equity issued by digital asset treasury companies — though, at this time, Strategy remains the only major DAT firm currently issuing preferred shares tied to its bitcoin accumulation strategy.

Benchmark said the structure could create a reinforcing cycle where Strategy issues STRC to investors seeking high-yield exposure and uses the proceeds to acquire additional bitcoin, while crypto protocols purchase the preferred shares to generate yield for their token-based products.