CZ Says Saylor's Strategy STRC Is Too Complex

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (@cz_binance) has taken aim at Strategy's STRC preferred stock, calling the instrument potentially too complex and "over-engineered" after requiring multiple attempts to understand it.

CZ Questions the Product's Design

Zhao said he has attempted multiple times to understand Strategy's STRC preferred stock and still cannot fully grasp it, describing it as "over-engineered." His remarks carry particular weight given his standing in the crypto industry. He added that Michael Saylor once spent 15 minutes explaining STRC to him backstage at a conference, saying: "I nodded my head a lot, but I still don't really understand."

Despite his reservations about the product's design, CZ was careful to separate his doubts about the product's complexity from any judgment of Saylor's intentions. He also raised a broader structural concern: Bitcoin's long-term appreciation thesis may be sound, but its volatility makes it a challenging base for leveraged instruments. On the possibility that Strategy may eventually be forced to offload holdings, CZ noted: "At some point, he's gotta sell some Bitcoin."

STRC Under Pressure Below Par

CZ's comments arrive at a difficult moment for the instrument. Strategy's key funding vehicle, its STRC preferred stock, has fallen to a record low of $89, weakening a major channel the company uses to raise cash to buy $BTC. Because STRC now trades below its $100 par value, Strategy has paused issuing new shares through its at-the-market program, limiting its ability to keep adding to its bitcoin holdings.

STRC is a perpetual preferred stock that pays monthly cash distributions, with the dividend rate set each month to encourage trading near its $100 par value and to limit price volatility. Strategy adjusts the instrument's dividend rate each month to steer the share price toward $100 and strip out volatility, a mechanism that works only as long as the stock holds near that level. As of June 2026, the stated dividend rate reached 11.5 percent, though because the stock price dropped significantly below par, the effective yield for new buyers rose to nearly 13 percent.

The drop in STRC also came after Strategy sold $BTC for the first time to fund preferred dividends. The company disclosed on June 1 that it had sold 32 coins for about $2.5 million in late May to cover STRC distributions, a move that rattled a market accustomed to Chairman Michael Saylor's pledge never to sell. STRC has not traded at par since mid-April, and the latest leg down comes amid a weaker bitcoin price and growing scrutiny of Strategy's cash reserves relative to its dividend obligations.

Sources
The Block: CZ on Strategy STRC and MiCA
CoinDesk: Strategy's STRC Preferred Stock Hits a Record Low Below Par
Unchained Crypto: Strategy's STRC Preferred Stock Sinks to Around $89