SAYLOR’S DIGITAL CREDIT ESSAY: “BITCOIN ITSELF PAYS NO COUPON” — THE USD RESERVE PAYS STRC’S 12% — REFILLING IT CAN MEAN “SELECTIVE BITCOIN MONETIZATION”

Michael Saylor's essay "How Strategy Engineers Digital Credit," published on Strategy's site on September 29, 2026, says it plainly: "Bitcoin itself pays no coupon. Strategy pays dividends under the terms of its securities." STRC, the preferred stock at the center of the essay, pays 12% a year, a rate Strategy held in its October 1 filing.

The essay splits Strategy's dollars in two. "USD Reserve supports payment continuity. It is designated for preferred dividends and interest on outstanding debt." USD Cash goes to buybacks and bitcoin. On refilling the reserve: "Depending on economics and existing authorizations, sources can include financing and selective Bitcoin monetization. Payment capacity must exist in dollars when dollars are needed."

So far, financing has meant selling common stock. In the week to September 27, Strategy's September 28 8-K shows a $151.7 million STRC buyback funded with $103.5 million from MSTR stock sales and $48.1 million of USD cash, and $22.1 million of preferred dividends paid from the reserve, which stood at $5.02 billion.

Whoever buys STRC is paid in dollars that come from someone buying MSTR. If that buyer is not there, the essay names the next source: the bitcoin. That is not a sale. It is an option, now in writing, and the dividend is what would decide when to use it. At the time of this writing, bitcoin was $84,643.