Strive CEO says credit quality unchanged despite STRC, SATA plunge
A leverage-driven liquidation event, not deteriorating credit quality, sent Bitcoin-linked preferred stocks into a tailspin before a swift recovery
June 18 was supposed to be an ordinary Thursday for the nascent digital credit market. It was not.
STRC, Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, cratered to an intraday low of $82.5. SATA, Strive’s own Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, tumbled from its $100 par value into the low 90s. Strive CEO Matt Cole called it “the most difficult day in the history of Digital Credit.”
This wasn’t a credit event. Nobody defaulted. No issuer’s fundamentals deteriorated. Leveraged investors got hit with margin calls, which triggered forced selling, which triggered more margin calls.
What actually happened
A leverage-driven selloff hit the digital credit market on Thursday, sending Strategy’s STRC preferred stock and Strive’s SATA preferred stock sharply lower before both securities recovered by the end of the session.
STRC tumbled to $82.5 intraday, a 17.5% drop from par, before closing near $89. SATA slid below $93, well outside the $99-to-$101 trading band Strive maintains using its Bitcoin and cash reserves, before finishing the day at approximately $97.
Dividend reserves intact after sharp price swings
According to Cole, the move reflected forced selling by leveraged holders rather than any weakening in the issuers’ creditworthiness, noting that the issuers’ fundamentals were unchanged and that Strive’s dividend reserves remained fully intact.
Today was the most difficult day in the history of Digital Credit.$STRC traded as low as $82.50 before recovering sharply. $SATA traded from par down to the low 90s before also rebounding. It was a difficult day for many investors.
What happened today was a leverage…
— Matt Cole (@ColeMacro) June 18, 2026
He pointed to the strong buying interest that emerged at the lows as a sign of underlying demand for both securities.
He compared the dynamic to past leverage-driven dislocations in traditional fixed income, including Treasuries, and said he sees the episode as a useful, early lesson for the still-developing digital credit market rather than a sign of underlying weakness.