Bitcoin veteran Richard Byworth revealed on June 27 that he assisted a family office in swapping 25% of its Micron holdings for Strategy's preferred stock STRC at market price. The family office had held Micron since 2020 with a book profit of approximately 30 times. The reason for the switch was described as "long-term allocators who understand Bitcoin, and have been discussing this allocation strategy since STRC launched."
Product Structure Specifications and Current Discount of STRC
STRC stands for Strategy Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock. Product specifications are as follows:
Par value: $100 per share
Initial annualized dividend: Approximately 9%, paid monthly
Rate mechanism: Strategy dynamically adjusts the monthly rate, aiming to keep the market trading price of STRC near $100
Trading price on June 28: $74.57, a discount of approximately 25.4% from par value
Recent decline: Down about 25% in the past month and 18% in the past week
As of June 28, Strategy has not issued any public statement regarding the current discount.
Two Core Criticisms from the Community: Timing of the Switch and Fiduciary Duty
Critics focused on two aspects. Regarding the timing of the switch, community users directly pointed out that buying a preferred stock that fell about 25% in the past month and 18% in the past week at market price is not a reasonable reallocation decision. Some users called STRC a "permanent self-cannibalizing structure."
Regarding fiduciary duty, critics argued that Byworth, acting as an institutional advisor, helped a family office switch into a preferred stock trading at a 25.4% discount at market price, potentially constituting a breach of fiduciary duty to the family office.
Supporters responded that the inherent noise in the early Bitcoin credit market does not necessarily indicate a flawed allocation logic. The real criteria for judgment should be structure, buyer identity, and time horizon. Some users also noted that critics hold AI stocks, questioning the neutrality of their motives.
Richard Byworth's Institutional Background: Syz Capital, FUTURE, and Nomura Securities
Byworth currently serves as Managing Partner at Syz Capital (joined in 2022), and is Chairman of FUTURE, a Swiss Bitcoin treasury company that has raised approximately CHF 28 million. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Eqonex (formerly Diginex), listing the first digital asset ecosystem on Nasdaq. Before entering the crypto industry, he was Managing Director of Derivatives for Asia Pacific at Nomura Securities.
This traditional finance background has elevated the controversy beyond typical community discussions because an institutional advisor publicly calling on a family office to buy a discounted asset has amplified the "conflict of interest" allegations within the community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Byworth disclose any conflict of interest with Strategy or STRC in his public posts?
According to Byworth's June 27 post and his June 28 response, he did not proactively disclose any relationship with Strategy or STRC in his public posts. Community critics questioned him with terms like "paid MSTR promotion," but Byworth did not specifically address this in his public posts.
How does STRC's par value support mechanism work, and what is the reason for the current discount?
Strategy's design aims to keep the market trading price near the $100 par value by dynamically adjusting STRC's monthly dividend rate. The current trading price of $74.57 (a discount of about 25.4%) indicates that this support mechanism has not been effective under recent market pressure. The discount is directly related to Strategy's overall market pressure and the downturn in Bitcoin asset valuations.
Has the absolute amount of the family office's switch into STRC been disclosed?
According to Byworth's post, the family office sold 25% of its Micron holdings, but the original position size and the absolute amount switched into STRC were not disclosed in the public post, and Byworth did not provide further details.
