If you’ve been eyeing Strategy’s preferred stock as a way to earn yield on what is essentially a Bitcoin proxy, today is your last real chance to get in before the first semi-monthly dividend drops. The company formerly known as MicroStrategy has officially shifted its STRC preferred shares to a twice-monthly payout schedule, with the inaugural payment set for July 15, 2026.

Stockholders approved the change on June 8, and the record date for that first payment is June 30. If you want to collect the first check under the new structure, you need to own the shares before that cutoff.

What STRC actually pays

STRC, formally called the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, carries an annualized dividend rate that currently floats between 11.5% and 12%.

The first semi-monthly payment is expected to land at roughly $0.48 per share, based on the 11.5% rate. Subsequent payments are projected to tick up to about $0.50 per share as the rate adjusts toward 12%.

The stock is designed to trade near its $100 par value, which means the yield is the main attraction here, not capital appreciation.

STRC was initially issued back in July 2025 with a starting rate of 9%. The fact that it’s now paying between 11.5% and 12% tells you something about how Strategy has had to sweeten the deal to keep investors interested.

Why semi-monthly matters

Under the new structure, record dates fall on the 15th and the last day of each month. Payments follow shortly after. The logic, according to the company, is to align cash distributions more closely with bi-weekly payroll schedules.

More frequent distributions mean better cash flow management and faster reinvestment opportunities. If you’re running a dividend reinvestment strategy, getting paid 24 times a year instead of 12 means your compounding kicks in sooner.

The Bitcoin elephant in the room

You can’t talk about STRC without talking about Bitcoin, because that’s fundamentally what this instrument is underwritten by. Strategy holds one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries on the planet, and its entire capital structure, including STRC, exists to support that accumulation strategy.

The preferred stock launched alongside Strategy’s broader push into capital markets products tied to its Bitcoin holdings. Since July 2025, the company has used these instruments to raise capital, buy more Bitcoin, and repeat the cycle.

STRC trades on Nasdaq and is available through major brokerages, which means it’s accessible to retail investors. A 12% yield on a Nasdaq-listed security sounds fantastic until you realize the underlying collateral can drop 30% in a month.