Why Buybacks Won’t Get STRC to Par

Strategy doubled its buyback authorization to $2 billion. The answer isn't more money — it's a better product.

Welcome to the Bitcoin Balance Sheet. Each Friday, we recap key insights from our podcast hosted by our very own Tyler Rowe.

This week Yves Graf, Chase Palmieri, and Tyler Rowe argued Strategy's $2B STRC buyback still won't get Stretch back to par — and that SATA's 13-day streak at $100 is winning unless Strategy copies the daily 13% product. Joseph Onorati of DeFi Development Corp. said the four-year cycle can't hold if everybody already trades it, and that DATs beat ETFs by refusing to sell the bottom.

The Hurdle Rate Podcast Live at Bitcoin Treasuries Conference 2026

If you missed Strive's leap from ~5,000 to 20,000+ BTC and SATA reclaiming $100 par, the place to watch Matt Cole, Ben Werkman, Jeff Walton and Joe Burnett break it down live—no replay, no filter—is The Hurdle Rate Podcast on stage at the Bitcoin Treasuries Conference in New York City on September 28.

Buybacks Won’t Get STRC to Par

Tyler Rowe sat down with Yves-André Graf and Chase Palmieri after Strategy tapped general-purpose USD cash — not the dividend reserve — to buy STRC and then doubled the authorization to $2 billion. Their claim: buybacks retire claims, but they are not what returns Stretch to par.

Graf said Strategy should copy Strive — lift the coupon toward 13% and move to daily payouts while STRC is still a retail product. Palmieri framed SATA's 13-day par streak as the product of attention, a clean balance sheet, and daily dividends. They also put Metaplanet's frozen 10th-series dilution clause at roughly $485 million of shareholder cost.

Listen and subscribe for the panel's full take on STRC, SATA, and why daily dividends keep winning.

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Why The Four-Year Bitcoin Cycle Just Broke

Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corp., told Tyler Rowe the four-year cycle cannot hold if everyone already trades it — and that this bear was muted because crypto now sits inside a real financial system of ETFs, treasuries, and onshore options. DFDV, the first U.S. non-Bitcoin treasury, is bringing Chad: a 13% daily-dividend preferred modeled on SATA and priced at $10, not $100.

He expects DATs to displace ETFs because an operating company can stake, lever, and refuse to delever at the bottom — the opposite of a 2x ETF that sells into a drawdown. The rule: lever up in the bear, diamond-hand through it, and let the bull naturally delever the stack.

Listen and subscribe for Joseph’s full thoughts on Chad and why DATs should never sell the bottom.

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