New York, Feb 26, 2026, 14:48 EST — Regular session
- Strategy Inc shares down 1.8% at $133.23, after an 8.9% jump on Wednesday
- bitcoin down 2.2% near $67,555 after giving up an earlier move above $70,000
- Short interest sits near 14% of market value, with traders watching ETF hedges and the company’s next bitcoin-buying update
Shares of Strategy Inc (MSTR) were down 1.8% at $133.23 in afternoon trading on Thursday, retreating a day after an 8.9% surge. The stock has swung between $128.65 and $135.70 so far in the session. 1
The move matters because investors treat Strategy as a fast, liquid proxy for bitcoin. Formerly MicroStrategy, the company has remade its pitch around holding the cryptocurrency, and it says it is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. 2
Positioning is adding torque. Short interest — shares borrowed and sold by traders betting the price will fall — is about 14% of market value, and some of that reflects hedges rather than outright bearish bets, Benzinga reported, citing FactSet and Goldman Sachs. Brian Brookshire, who follows bitcoin-treasury companies, wrote on X that “Jane Street, in particular, has recently acquired a conspicuously large IBIT position.” 3
bitcoin was down 2.2% around $67,555 after earlier trading as high as $70,171, Investing.com data showed. 4
Bloomberg reported bitcoin fell as much as 3.5% to $66,511 on Thursday after climbing toward $70,000 on Wednesday. Strategy’s shares tend to exaggerate those turns, up or down. 5
In a Feb. 23 filing, Strategy said it bought 592 bitcoins for about $39.8 million in the week ended Feb. 22. The filing showed it sold 297,940 shares through an at-the-market program — a mechanism that lets companies sell new shares into the market from time to time — and used the proceeds for purchases; total holdings stood at 717,722 bitcoins with an average purchase price of about $76,020. 6
Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer reiterated a Buy rating and a $705 price target on Thursday, according to a note published by Investing.com. 7
More broadly, bitcoin drew fresh bids on Wednesday as equities rallied on a tech rebound after Nvidia’s results, a Reuters columnist wrote, before Thursday’s pullback. 8
But the setup cuts both ways. If bitcoin keeps sliding, Strategy’s stock can fall quickly and funding via new share sales can dilute holders; if the crowded short trade shifts from hedge to outright pressure, it can deepen the downdraft.
Next up: traders are watching Friday’s U.S. producer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET for any knock-on move in rates and risk assets, alongside bitcoin’s grip on the mid-to-high $60,000s after this week’s whipsaw. 9
