Strategy 334 BTC Purchase Comes With $20.9 Billion Gain

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, kept buying in early October but at a much slower pace than it spent on its own preferred stock. The Strategy 334 BTC purchase, disclosed in a filing on Monday, October 5, 2026, brought the company's holdings to 848,000 bitcoin. The same filing put Strategy's estimated third-quarter gain on digital assets at $20.91 billion, a fair-value figure that flips last quarter's loss position and releases a large tax allowance.

What happened

According to the company's Form 8-K filed with the SEC, Strategy acquired 334 bitcoin between October 1 and October 4 for an aggregate $28.7 million, an average of $85,838.80 per coin including fees and expenses. Holdings reached 848,000 BTC as of 4 p.m. Eastern time on October 4, bought for an aggregate $63.97 billion at an average of $75,440.70. The filing shows no bitcoin purchases from September 28 to September 30.

The purchase was funded with $15.7 million of net proceeds from selling 92,894 shares of its Class A common stock through its at-the-market program, plus $13.0 million from what the company calls USD Cash. Strategy did not sell any of its four preferred stock series through the program in either period covered by the filing.

The larger outlay went to buybacks. Strategy repurchased 1,033,168 shares of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC) for $102.6 million from September 28 to 30, and a further 740,634 shares for $73.7 million from October 1 to 4. Decrypt tallied the total at $176.3 million, more than six times the amount spent on bitcoin over the same stretch. The filing says $547.2 million remains available under the preferred repurchase program as of October 4, and $1.0 billion remains under its common stock repurchase program.

The company also reported its dollar balances. As of October 4, its USD Reserve, intended to support preferred dividends and debt interest, stood at $4.88 billion, and USD Cash, available for broader purposes including bitcoin purchases, was $833.4 million. From September 28 to October 4, Strategy used $142.5 million of the reserve to pay dividends and interest.

Why it matters

The quarterly numbers are the headline. Strategy estimates a $20.91 billion gain on digital assets for the three months ended September 30, with $1.88 billion of associated deferred tax expense, and a digital asset carrying value of $70.82 billion. Because the fair value of its bitcoin exceeded cost basis at quarter-end, the company reversed a $4.12 billion deferred tax asset recorded as of June 30 and released the related valuation allowance. That produced an income tax benefit of about $4.12 billion, cutting estimated deferred tax expense from roughly $6.00 billion to $1.88 billion. The filing notes that KPMG has not audited or reviewed these figures, so they could change in the formal quarterly report.

Under fair-value accounting, the gain reflects the change in bitcoin's price over the quarter rather than cash earned. Called It's review of bitcoin and ether third-quarter returns covers the price move behind it. The same accounting can produce equally large losses in a falling quarter.

The mix of activity is also telling. The Strategy 334 BTC purchase was small by the company's standards, and the coins cost about 14% more than its average basis, Decrypt noted. Meanwhile, the company is directing more money toward STRC, which Decrypt said has traded below its $100 par value for months. Buying back preferred shares below par reduces future dividend obligations, and it signals that management is focused on the credit side of its balance sheet as much as on accumulation. Compare that with the much larger buys Called It covered in Strategy's September bitcoin purchase.

Decrypt also pointed to a similar pattern elsewhere: fellow treasury company Metaplanet sold 10,000 BTC and bought back 11,000 during its third quarter, which the outlet described as a round trip meant to show credit rating agencies that it could convert bitcoin to cash on demand.

What's next

Strategy's full third-quarter results, including audited or reviewed figures, will be the next checkpoint. Weekly 8-K updates will show whether the Strategy 334 BTC purchase marks a new, slower rhythm of buying or a pause while the company prioritizes STRC buybacks and its dollar reserve. Investors will also watch how the remaining $547.2 million of preferred repurchase capacity is used and whether the company resumes preferred sales through its at-the-market program. None of this is a recommendation on the company's securities or on bitcoin.