Bitcoin bulls are watching MicroStrategy’s STRC ex-dividend date and the Senate’s CLARITY Act markup this week. K33 Research said both events could shift defensive positioning that has kept funding rates negative for 74 days.
MicroStrategy uses STRC, a perpetual preferred stock, to fund recurring mid-month bitcoin purchases. The instrument has driven the firm’s largest bitcoin acquisitions of 2026, K33 said.
STRC Drives Recurring Mid-Month Bitcoin Bids
MicroStrategy issues STRC shares through its at-the-market program whenever the stock trades at or above its $100 par. The firm then deploys proceeds into Bitcoin purchases.
K33 said the instrument funded 22,131 BTC in March and 46,872 BTC in April. The cadence typically thickens ahead of the 15th of each month, when share ownership is fixed for monthly dividend eligibility.
STRC traded just above par on Wednesday, May 13. This week, volumes spiked to their highest level since April 15, suggesting another sizable purchase could be disclosed next week. MicroStrategy’s total holdings sit at 818,869 BTC.
Funding Streak Meets a Possible Senate Catalyst
The 30-day funding rate has been negative for 74 consecutive sessions, K33 said. Any recent normalization reflected thin volumes rather than fresh bullish positioning. Open interest has stayed flat, and Bitcoin has yet to reclaim its 200-day moving average.
Lawmakers are scheduled to mark up the CLARITY Act on May 14. K33 described the latest draft as broadly constructive for crypto, despite open debates around ethics provisions, DeFi protections, and stablecoin rules.
Defensive perpetual positioning could amplify any upside through short-covering flows.
The bill’s outcome also carries weight beyond traders. Renna Ba, Head of Ecosystem at Morph, told BeInCrypto a CLARITY Act failure would slow institutional integration of stablecoin payment rails.
Without the CLARITY Act, banks, card networks, and payment processors face unresolved questions about how stablecoin instruments are classified, which regulator they answer to, and what compliance obligations apply.