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This week, crypto analytics company CryptoQuant challenged the prevailing narrative around Michael Saylor’s Strategy, urging the company to pause Bitcoin purchases and rebuild its cash reserves. The warning came after its dividend coverage fell to just 14 months from roughly seven years.
Strategy isn’t facing an immediate cash crunch, but CryptoQuant’s warning puts the spotlight on the financing structure behind its Bitcoin strategy. With cash reserves shrinking and dividend obligations increasing, Strategy’s ability to keep funding new purchases is drawing closer scrutiny.
The rest of this week’s Crypto Biz shows how the industry is evolving. CBOE is eyeing perpetual Bitcoin and Ether futures, Chainlink is working with European and Korean banks on stablecoin-based FX settlement and Zcash miner Fortitude is heading to Nasdaq through an unlikely merger with a healthcare company.
<h2 id="cryptoquant-urges-strategy-to-pause-bitcoin-buying-as-dividend-coverage-drops-to-14-months">CryptoQuant urges Strategy to pause Bitcoin buying as dividend coverage drops to 14 months</h2>
Earlier this week, CryptoQuant argued that Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation has <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/strategys-dividend-coverage-falls-14-months-cryptoquant" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">become increasingly difficult to sustain</a>, urging the company to rebuild its cash reserves after dividend coverage fell to just 14 months from roughly seven years.
CEO Ki Young Ju said the Strategy’s cash position has deteriorated as annual dividend obligations surged to $1.2 billion following large issuances of STRC preferred shares carrying an 11.5% yield. While Strategy’s cash reserve recovered to about $1.4 billion after recent MSTR share sales, it remains down 38% year-to-date after the company repurchased $1.5 billion of its 2029 senior notes.
The warning comes as Strategy’s funding model faces additional pressure. STRC preferred shares recently fell as much as 17.5% below their $100 par value, limiting the company’s ability to raise fresh capital through additional preferred stock sales.&nbsp;
<img alt="" height="620" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-448.jpeg" width="1624">
Strategy’s cash reserve and dividend coverage. Source: <a href="https://x.com/cryptoquant_com/status/2069468302099825087/photo/1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CryptoQuant</a>
<h2 id="cboe-considers-converting-bitcoin-and-ether-futures-into-perpetual-contracts">CBOE considers converting Bitcoin and Ether futures into perpetual contracts</h2>
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is weighing a plan to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cboe-bitcoin-ether-perpetual-futures-cftc-kalshi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">convert its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures</a> into perpetual futures, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The potential move follows recent regulatory changes after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved crypto perpetual futures for Kalshi and outlined a framework for other registered exchanges to offer similar products.
CBOE launched its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures last December, with contracts extending as far as 10 years. Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain leveraged positions indefinitely. They were first popularized by crypto derivatives platform BitMEX and have since <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/gold-silver-oil-drive-65000-percent-jump-in-commodity-perpetuals" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">gained traction</a> across both centralized and decentralized markets.&nbsp;
<img alt="" height="1152" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-1721.png" width="2048">
Perp volumes have surged across DeFi exchanges. Source: <a href="https://defillama.com/perps" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DeFiLlama</a>
<h2 id="zcash-miner-fortitude-to-go-public-through-nasdaq-merger-with-heartsciences">Zcash miner Fortitude to go public through Nasdaq merger with HeartSciences</h2>
Zcash miner Fortitude Mining Holdings is <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/zcash-miner-fortitude-go-public-heartsciences-merger" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">set to go public through an all-stock merger</a> with medical technology company HeartSciences, bringing together two businesses from entirely different industries.
The merger will allow Fortitude to secure a Nasdaq listing without pursuing a traditional initial public offering, while HeartSciences’ existing shareholders will retain a minority stake in the combined company. Following the transaction, the combined company will operate under the Fortitude name and is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker TUDE, subject to regulatory approval.
The announcement sent HeartSciences shares up as much as 91% on Tuesday. Before the merger, the healthcare company remained unprofitable, reporting an $8.77 million net loss in fiscal 2025 despite advancing its product roadmap.
<img alt="" height="687" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-1722.png" width="1077">
HeartSciences stock. Source: <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/HSCS/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Yahoo Finance</a>
<h2 id="chainlink-joins-european-and-korean-banking-groups-to-explore-stablecoin-fx-settlement">Chainlink joins European and Korean banking groups to explore stablecoin FX settlement</h2>
Chainlink has <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/chainlink-europe-korea-banks-stablecoin-fx-settlement-project-pangea" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">joined a cross-border banking initiative</a> with European and South Korean financial institutions to study whether regulated euro and won stablecoins can enable real-time foreign exchange settlement.
Dubbed Project Pangea, the working group brings together South Korean digital asset infrastructure company FairSquareLab, the Unified Korea Alliance (UniKA), Qivalis and Chainlink to evaluate atomic swaps using blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.
Rather than launching a live payment network, Project Pangea will explore how tokenized currencies could improve wholesale financial markets, where the global foreign exchange market handles an estimated $9.6 trillion in daily trading volume. The initiative reflects growing interest among banks in using stablecoins and tokenized deposits to modernize cross-border settlement, reduce friction and improve efficiency.
<img alt="" height="553" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-1723.png" width="921">
In a bullish scenario, the stablecoin market could reach $4 trillion by 2030. Source: <a href="https://www.citigroup.com/rcs/citigpa/storage/public/GPS_Report_Stablecoins_2030.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Citigroup</a>
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