Here’s another clean rewrite with a slightly sharper, more compact tone:
Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer says comparisons between STRC and Terra’s UST misread the structure of Strategy’s preferred stock, arguing it is a dividend-paying equity instrument backed indirectly by bitcoin rather than a fixed peg that can break.
Strategy’s STRC shares have fallen to record lows in recent days, prompting renewed comparisons to Terra’s UST stablecoin, whose 2022 collapse erased roughly $40 billion in value.
While the analogy has spread on social media, Benchmark Research says it overlooks key structural differences.
The comparison rests mainly on two surface similarities. STRC is designed to trade near $100 but fell to an intraday low of about $82.53 last week before recovering to roughly $88.65 on Monday—around 11% below its target level.
Critics have described the move as a “depeg,” borrowing terminology from stablecoins that lose their $1 parity. STRC also offers an 11.5% dividend yield, echoing Terra’s Anchor protocol, which once promised high returns before collapsing.
However, Benchmark-StoneX analyst Mark Palmer rejected that framing, emphasizing that STRC is not a stablecoin.
Unlike stablecoins, which aim to maintain a fixed $1 peg, STRC is a preferred equity security designed to trade near $100 but without any guaranteed parity—meaning it cannot technically “depeg.”
Palmer said Strategy’s objective is to support trading near $100 rather than guarantee it, adding that recent weakness reflects a “market-driven reset in required yield” rather than structural damage.
He contrasted this with Terra’s UST, which relied on an algorithmic mint-and-burn system linked to LUNA and lacked hard collateral. Once confidence broke, the mechanism unraveled and both tokens collapsed.
STRC, by contrast, has no self-reinforcing stabilization mechanism and is backed indirectly by Strategy’s bitcoin holdings, which total 847,363 BTC worth about $54.5 billion, according to the company.
The decline has, however, affected Strategy’s capital-raising loop. When STRC trades above $100, the company issues shares to fund additional bitcoin purchases; below that level, issuance slows or stops, leading to a recent pause.
Palmer noted that while funding efficiency has weakened, this does not indicate a broken model.
Benchmark also reiterated its $570 price target on Strategy’s common stock (MSTR), well above its recent high of about $457 in October, even as shares slipped 2.8% to $109 on Monday for a fifth straight decline.
