New York, February 17, 2026, 11:05 EST — Regular session
Strategy Inc (MSTR) slid roughly 4% on Tuesday, stretching a volatile streak for the Bitcoin-focused stock after another weekly token buy—this one bankrolled by selling shares. By late morning, the stock was off 4.4% at $127.96.
The filing’s in focus now because Strategy sticks to a straightforward loop: tap markets for cash, snap up more bitcoin, do it again. That cycle gives the stock a lift when crypto bulls are out, but the constant dilution is tough for some equity holders to factor in.
Jitters over the macro backdrop are persistent. Speaking on CNBC, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee pointed to “several more rate cuts that can happen in 2026” so long as inflation cools — a remark that risk-asset watchers, crypto included, quickly parsed. (Reuters)
Strategy disclosed in an SEC filing that it picked up 2,486 bitcoins over the span from Feb. 9 to Feb. 16, paying $168.4 million in total. That put the average price per bitcoin at $67,710 and brought the firm’s stash to 717,131 bitcoins. To fund the buys, Strategy tapped its at-the-market (ATM) program, which allows it to sell shares at going prices. That included unloading 660,000 shares of common stock and another 785,354 of its variable-rate perpetual preferred shares. (SEC)
Bitcoin edged up around 0.2% to trade close to $67,853. Broader U.S. equities lagged, with the S&P 500 ETF SPY slipping 0.5%. The QQQ, tracking tech shares, fell about 0.9%, a backdrop that tends to amplify swings in high-beta stocks.
Crypto-related stocks moved in different directions. Shares of Coinbase gained 1.7%. Marathon Digital, a bitcoin miner, dropped 6.3%.
The trade isn’t a one-way street. Should bitcoin fall, Strategy racks up bigger paper losses—and could be forced back to the market, possibly under less favorable conditions. That would pile on more pressure to a stock that’s already volatile.
Now, attention shifts to the Federal Reserve’s Jan. 27–28 meeting minutes, landing Wednesday. Markets are looking for any hints about the path of interest rates — and watching how bitcoin responds. That’s often a bellwether for Strategy’s shares. (Federalreserve)
