Strategy (MSTR) launched its first non-U.S. permanent preferred product, Stream (STRE), in November, aiming to tap demand across the European Economic Area (EEA).
However, it didn’t turn out the way Michael Thaler’s company expected.
The preferred shares are priced at 100 euros ($115) per share, pay an annual dividend of 10% and are higher than common shares in the capital structure. STRE is positioned as a European analog to Stretch (STRC), the company’s high-yield money market-style preferred stock. Strategy ultimately raised $715 million, pricing the vehicle at €80 per share, a 20% discount due to market conditions and demand.
While the financial product sounds great on paper, STRE has struggled to gain traction since its launch. The company also rarely communicated publicly about the product, which has since been removed from the company’s dashboard.
So what happened?
Khing Oei, founder and CEO of Netherlands-based Bitcoin finance company Treasury, pointed to several structural reasons why STRE may not have taken off yet, even though Europe is a large enough potential market.
First, STRE is difficult to access, Oei said. The product is listed on the Euro MTF in Luxembourg, but this market lacks user-friendly distribution methods. Interactive Brokers, one of the world’s largest brokerage platforms, does not offer STRE, nor do many other retail-focused platforms support trading of this instrument.
Second is the lack of transparent historical pricing and reliable market data. Limited visibility on platforms like TradingView hinders adoption as investors struggle to assess liquidity and performance. Currently, TradingView shows STRE’s market capitalization at $39 billion, with only 1,300 trades.
future?
Given the problems STRE faces, what will happen to it?
Oei recommended that STRE should be relisted elsewhere.
For example, the Dutch financial and trading infrastructure provides stronger distribution, deeper market making, tighter bid-ask spreads, and wider retail access. These conditions may be more conducive to expanding the adoption of financial products.
While executive chairman Michael Saylor has previously downplayed expansion into markets such as Japan, it remains an open question whether Strategy will double down on Europe as a growth opportunity or continue to focus primarily on the U.S. market, where it has four perpetual preferred equity products.
