Bitcoin Plummets Lower as Strategy's STRC Dives Further From $100 Mark

The price of Bitcoin continued to turn lower on Thursday as Strategy’s flagship preferred stock notched another record low after U.S. markets opened.

Not long after the opening bell, Stretch (STRC), the product that currently offers an 11.5% annual dividend, fell 8% to $74.13, according to Yahoo Finance. That marked a more than 25% drift from its $100 par value, which Strategy engineered the preferred stock to trade at.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin plunged. The leading digital asset by market cap fell to $58,188 before ticking back up to $59,273 as of this writing, a 3.3% decrease over the past day, according to CoinGecko. The drop exacerbated losses, following the cryptocurrency’s fall to a 21-month low on Wednesday.

Strategy’s stock price has been hammered in recent weeks as STRC’s swoon has tested faith in Executive Chairman and co-founder Michael Saylor’s vision for “digital credit.” The company’s common MSTR shares tumbled 7% to $87.50 before firming to $87.89 apiece.

Liquidations across the crypto market rapidly accelerated as Bitcoin and other assets fell Thursday. CoinGlass data shows more than $1.44 billion in positions liquidated over the past 24 hours, dominated by long positions—or bets that an asset’s price will increase—at $1.2 billion. Bitcoin is leading the carnage with $658 million in total liquidations.

Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated with additional details.