Bitcoin “Stacking Sats” Costs: What Crypto Investors Pay Now

Crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant has urged Michael Saylor’s publicly traded vehicle, Strategy, to slow down Bitcoin buying and focus on strengthening its cash position. The call follows a sharp change in Strategy’s dividend coverage, which CryptoQuant says has dropped to roughly 14 months from a level closer to seven years.

The warning raises questions about the sustainability of Strategy’s financing structure as dividend obligations grow, cash reserves fluctuate, and access to new capital becomes more constrained. The wider “Crypto Biz” roundup this week also highlights renewed interest in crypto derivatives at traditional exchanges, stablecoin use cases in cross-border FX, and a Zcash mining company pursuing Nasdaq exposure through a merger.

Key takeaways

• CryptoQuant says Strategy’s dividend coverage has fallen to about 14 months, down from roughly seven years, and urges pausing new Bitcoin purchases to rebuild cash.


• Strategy’s dividend burden increased to $1.2 billion annually after STRC preferred share issuances with an 11.5% yield, according to CryptoQuant’s CEO Ki Young Ju.


• CryptoQuant also points to cash reserve dynamics after MSTR share sales and 2029 senior note repurchases, noting the reserve is still down year-to-date.


• CBOE is considering converting its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures into perpetual futures, following new regulatory pathways for perpetual crypto derivatives.


• Chainlink has joined a cross-border banking working group (Project Pangea) to explore whether regulated euro and won stablecoins can support real-time FX settlement.

CryptoQuant challenges Strategy’s dividend-backed Bitcoin plan

CryptoQuant’s latest criticism targets the mechanics of Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation, not Bitcoin itself. In an earlier report, the firm argued that Strategy’s approach is becoming harder to sustain and specifically urged the company to rebuild cash reserves after dividend coverage slipped to about 14 months from roughly seven years. The argument is framed around the gap between ongoing dividend obligations and the company’s ability to fund new purchases.

According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, Strategy’s cash position has weakened as annual dividend obligations rose to $1.2 billion after large issuances of STRC preferred shares with an 11.5% yield. CryptoQuant also says Strategy’s cash reserve recovered to around $1.4 billion after recent MSTR share sales, but it remains down about 38% year-to-date after Strategy repurchased $1.5 billion of its 2029 senior notes.

The concern is compounded by market pricing of the preferred shares themselves. The preferred shares are reported to have traded as much as 17.5% below their $100 par value, which CryptoQuant says could limit Strategy’s ability to raise additional capital through further preferred issuance.

While the firm’s critique does not claim an immediate cash crisis, it shifts attention to near-term financing headwinds. For investors, the key issue is not whether Strategy can service dividends today, but whether its current capital structure will continue to support new Bitcoin purchases without forcing unpopular trade-offs—such as selling more assets, issuing new liabilities at unfavorable terms, or reducing the pace of accumulation.

CBOE weighs perpetual futures for Bitcoin and Ether

Elsewhere in the week’s business-forward crypto coverage, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is reportedly exploring a shift from its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures toward perpetual futures. The possibility is attributed to a Wall Street Journal report, and the idea follows regulatory momentum in the United States for perpetual crypto derivatives.

Recent CFTC actions set the stage by approving crypto perpetual futures for Kalshi and outlining a framework that other registered exchanges could use to offer similar products. CBOE launched its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures last December, with contract terms extending as far as 10 years. Under that structure, futures typically have defined expirations—even if they extend far into the future.

Perpetual contracts, in contrast, have no expiration date, allowing leveraged positions to remain open indefinitely. The concept is not new to crypto markets; it was popularized by derivatives venues such as BitMEX and has since spread across centralized and decentralized trading ecosystems. Coverage referenced by the broader market notes that perpetual instruments have gained traction across commodities and crypto, with volumes increasingly distributed among multiple venues.

If CBOE proceeds, it would mark another step for institutional trading infrastructure toward product formats that traders already use in crypto-native venues. The real watch item will be how quickly liquidity consolidates around the perpetual version and whether margin and risk controls meet the expectations of traditional derivatives participants accustomed to futures-style governance.

Fortitude to reach Nasdaq via merger with HeartSciences

A separate corporate development involves Zcash miner Fortitude Mining Holdings, which is set to go public through an all-stock merger with medical technology company HeartSciences. The structure is intended to provide Fortitude with a Nasdaq listing without pursuing a conventional initial public offering.

Under the deal terms described in the coverage, HeartSciences shareholders are expected to keep a minority stake in the combined company. After the transaction, the merged entity will operate under the Fortitude name and is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker TUDE, subject to regulatory approval.

The announcement reportedly drove a sharp move in HeartSciences’ shares, with the stock up as much as 91% on Tuesday. Before the merger, the healthcare company was unprofitable, posting an $8.77 million net loss in fiscal 2025 despite advancing its product roadmap.

For market participants, the merger highlights how crypto-adjacent firms continue to search for public-market access through non-traditional routes. The next uncertainty is standard for this type of transaction: whether the combined company’s regulatory path and integration planning will proceed smoothly, and how investors will ultimately value a business whose operations sit at the intersection of mining economics and capital markets expectations.

Chainlink joins banks to study stablecoin-based FX settlement

Chainlink is also moving beyond crypto markets into regulated finance exploration. The company has joined a cross-border banking initiative to study whether regulated euro and won stablecoins could enable real-time foreign exchange settlement.

The project—named Project Pangea—brings together South Korean digital asset infrastructure company FairSquareLab, the Unified Korea Alliance (UniKA), Qivalis, and Chainlink. The group is expected to evaluate blockchain-based settlement infrastructure and atomic swaps using tokenized currencies.

Notably, the initiative is presented as a research effort rather than an immediate payment network rollout. The framing links the work to wholesale FX, where the global market handles an estimated $9.6 trillion in daily trading volume. The underlying idea is that tokenized settlement could reduce friction and improve efficiency in cross-border markets—an area where banks have increasingly expressed interest in stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

A cited bullish scenario from Citigroup suggests the stablecoin market could grow to $4 trillion by 2030, underscoring why banks and infrastructure providers are paying closer attention to tokenized settlement models. For readers, the key point is what changes next: whether Project Pangea stays at the feasibility level or evolves into a controlled pilot with measurable settlement improvements.

Across these stories, the common thread is sustainability and infrastructure—whether it’s Strategy’s dividend-funded Bitcoin purchasing model, traditional exchanges adapting perpetual derivatives, or regulated institutions testing stablecoin settlement. Watch for follow-ups on financing stress indicators at Strategy, regulatory acceptance and liquidity signals for any CBOE perpetual rollout, and tangible milestones from Project Pangea beyond whitepaper-style exploration.

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