Summary MicroStrategy's STRC perpetual preferred shares are being used by Buck Labs' for a new 'Bitcoin Dollar' (BUCK) token, offering a 7% yield. BUCK token holders receive yield but lack ownership or redemption rights to STRC, as well as exposing them to both crypto and traditional finance risks. STRC could see modest demand from BUCK, but even a $100 million BUCK issuance would only absorb about 3% of STRC shares. I view BUCK as uncompetitive versus existing DeFi and euro-denominated yield options, so it is not a catalyst to buy STRC now. One of the major Bitcoin ( BTC-USD )-adjacent stories in 2025 was the arrival of perpetual preferred stocks from BTC guzzler (Micro)Strategy ( MSTR )( STRF )( STRC ). I covered Strategy's common stock and its preferred shares several times over the course of the year. My thinking can best be summed up in this way : the common stock should be avoided by investors, but the preferred stocks are interesting to various degrees. My preference among what are now four different US Dollar-based Strategy preferred stocks is STRF, and I still personally hold shares . I have yet to offer the market my thoughts on the Stretch Perpetual Preferred Stock class but will get into how the stock is being used in an interesting, albeit risky, "tokenized" product by a third party. "The Bitcoin Dollar" On January 6th, Cayman-based Buck Labs launched the self-described "Bitcoin Dollar" through the Buck Token (BUCK-USD) on Ethereum ( ETH-USD ). Unlike stablecoins, which generally don't see direct yields from T-bill collateral passed through to token holders, BUCK is being positioned as a "SavingsCoin" rather than as a stablecoin. 'SavingsCoin' (Buck.io) Instead of requiring interaction with saving/lending protocols to earn yield like stablecoins do, BUCK holders are entitled to 7% yields simply by allocating capital to the token. Buck Labs says the token would appeal to savers, institutions, and speculators when they are in between trades, though the white paper states that Buck's target market is retail investors in the EU. Unlike permissionless stablecoins, buying or selling the BUCK token isn't possible without AML compliance and also isn't available in the United States presently. Staking the asset isn't required to generate the yield, but holders do have to go through a claim process via the Buck App to receive their token rewards. The obvious question is how could Buck Labs possibly advertise 7% yields for a dollar-based product without staking when the collateral backing stablecoins is generating closer to 3.5%? The simple answer is BUCK is not backed by T-bills. Rather, buying BUCK is indirectly buying exposure to Bitcoin through a token where proceeds are ultimately used to buy STRC shares. Those shares currently have an effective yield of 11%. So despite paying a substantial yield to token holders, BUCK issuer Buck Labs is actually taking a larger spread than both Tether and Circle Internet Group ( CRCL ) on the collateral purchased for the tokens. Interestingly, BUCK is being positioned primarily as a 'governance' token that enables holders to vote on DAO proposals. BUCK token holders don't have any claim on the STRC shares purchased by the issuer. Per the white paper, bold my emphasis: The Issuer, not token holders, will hold legal and beneficial title to its assets, including any treasury assets it acquires to fund ongoing business operations. The Buck Token is a fungible crypto-asset issued on Ethereum blockchain. The Token is not backed by assets or pegged to any currency. Its value is determined solely by market supply and demand. The Token does not grant holders any ownership, claim or other legal or economic rights over the Issuer or its assets, nor any entitlement to dividends, profits or other returns. Essentially, BUCK is not actually backed by STRC, and BUCK holders don't have any actual ownership rights or redemption mechanisms for the STRC shares that provide the BUCK yield. Will BUCK Drive STRC Purchases? The simple answer to the question above is, "it's possible." However, I suspect any potential bid on STRC from growing BUCK issuance will be relatively small in the grand scheme of things. Consider that STRC has a market capitalization of just under $3 billion. In the BUCK white paper, Buck Labs cites a goal of $100 million as an initial offer. So even if the entire $100 million offer of BUCK is reached, we're talking about 3% of outstanding STRC shares getting pulled into the BUCK ecosystem. That's certainly not nothing, as it's about four days of average volume for STRC shares. But I have serious doubts that BUCK will be able to come close to $100 million in supply. I hold that view because I don't think BUCK is a very good product despite the lofty yield. For starters, BUCK requires the AML compliance associated with traditional finance but also settles on public blockchain rails. One of the key risks from the white paper lays out how investors could actually lose access to their BUCK tokens: Risks such as private key loss, hacking incidents at custodians or exchanges, and unauthorized access can lead to permanent loss of tokens. Any real crypto-native already knows the private key risk associated with on-chain tokens. It's a notable trade-off that comes with decentralized systems. But what makes this so much more concerning with BUCK is that holders get the data breach risk of personal information held by centralized issuers without what would be the equivalent of 'lost password' protection. Following completion of the AML compliance, it could still take up to 3 days for BUCK buyers to receive their tokens. Which means BUCK offers the asset access safety of on-chain crypto with the speed and data theft risk of TradFi. This is not a compelling mix, from where I sit. On top of that, BUCK holders are only taking 7% from an asset that actually yields 11%. While recognizing that BUCK isn't available for the US market and the token could be more appealing to EU participants who may not have easy access to a direct STRC purchase, I still think giving up 4% might be a tough pill to swallow when there are stablecoin yield opportunities available through DeFi protocols that can yield between 7% and 10% through permissionless tokens like USDC ( USDC-USD ) or Tether ( USDT-USD ). Furthermore, institutional players in Europe can buy Strategy's euro-denominated product STRE, which had an effective yield of 12.5% when it launched back in November. Closing Summary The fact that STRC is being used as a way to sell tokenized dollar yields outside the US is certainly intriguing. If BUCK is actually successful and exhausts an initial offering of $100 million tokens, it could theoretically create a bid on STRC shares that generates capital appreciation in the stock. Which is definitely something that I think current STRC shareholders should be paying attention to. That said, I'm not of the view that Buck Labs will sell $100 million BUCK tokens. Furthermore, I'm not really sure BUCK is even a product that solves any problem. For EU market participants with a risk appetite who want higher dollar-denominated yields, I don't see how a new permissioned token that earns yields from presumptive Bitcoin gains is any more attractive than the permissionless tokens and DeFi protocols already available in the market. None of this means that investors in STRC should sell, but I don't think BUCK is a reason to buy today either.
