Bitcoin treasury glossary

ADSO

Assumed diluted shares outstanding: Strategy’s share count including shares that could be created from convertible notes, options and similar instruments. It is the denominator in Strategy’s per-share bitcoin metrics.

ATM offering

An at-the-market program lets a company sell new shares gradually into the open market at prevailing prices, instead of in one large deal. Strategy funds many bitcoin purchases this way.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 11

Bitcoin treasury company

A public company that holds bitcoin as a main reserve asset on its balance sheet and often raises money specifically to buy more. Strategy is the largest; Strive, Metaplanet and others follow versions of the same idea.

Block height

The number of blocks in the bitcoin blockchain so far. A new block arrives about every ten minutes on average.

BTC Gain

A Strategy metric that turns BTC Yield into a number of bitcoin: roughly, how many coins the change in bitcoin per share is worth to existing shareholders. BTC $ Gain expresses the same idea in dollars.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 10

BTC per share

Bitcoin held divided by the share count, showing how much bitcoin backs each share. Companies define the share count differently (Strategy uses assumed diluted shares outstanding; Strive uses assumed fully diluted shares), so compare with care.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 11

BTC Yield

A Strategy metric: the percentage change in bitcoin held per assumed diluted share over a period. It rises when the company adds bitcoin faster than it adds shares. It is not income, and it can be negative.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 11 ▶ Ep. 10

Buyback (repurchase)

When a company buys its own securities back from the market. Strategy has repurchased STRC shares, for example, when they traded below $100.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 7 ▶ Ep. 4

Capital stack

The layers of a company’s funding, from most senior (debt) through preferred stock to common stock. Senior layers get paid first if things go wrong.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 6

Convertible notes

Bonds that pay interest (sometimes 0%) and can be swapped for common shares at a set conversion price. Investors accept a lower rate in exchange for the option to share in stock gains.

Cumulative vs non-cumulative

If a cumulative dividend is skipped, it builds up and must be paid before common shareholders receive anything. A skipped non-cumulative dividend is simply gone. STRD is non-cumulative; Strategy’s other preferreds are cumulative.

Daily dividends

A proposal for Strategy’s preferreds to have a dividend record date every calendar day, with payment on the next business day. Stockholders vote on it on October 28, 2026.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 10 ▶ Ep. 11

Digital credit

Strategy’s name for its preferred stock and similar income-style securities, which are ultimately supported by its bitcoin holdings.

Effective yield

The annual dividend divided by the current market price. A preferred trading below $100 has an effective yield above its stated rate, and vice versa.

Halving

Every 210,000 blocks (roughly four years), the new bitcoin paid to miners per block is cut in half, slowing new supply toward the 21 million cap.

Liquidation preference

What a preferred holder is entitled to receive, ahead of common shareholders, if the company is wound up. For several Strategy and Strive preferreds, this amount can float above $100 based on recent trading prices.

Market cap

Share price multiplied by the number of shares. For a treasury company, comparing market cap with the value of its bitcoin is the starting point for mNAV.

Mempool fees

The mempool is the waiting room for unconfirmed bitcoin transactions. Fees are quoted in sats per virtual byte (sat/vB); higher fees confirm sooner when the network is busy.

mNAV

Short for “multiple of net asset value.” It compares what the market pays for a company with the value of the bitcoin it holds. Above 1x, the stock trades at a premium to its bitcoin; below 1x, at a discount. Strategy publishes its own mNAV on strategy.com, and the exact formula has changed over time, so always check which definition is being used.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 11 ▶ Ep. 10

Preferred stock

A class of shares that ranks ahead of common stock for dividends and in a liquidation, but usually has no vote and limited upside. Strategy’s STRF, STRC, STRK, STRD and STRE, and Strive’s SATA, are perpetual preferreds: they never mature.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 6 ▶ Ep. 4

SATA

Strive’s variable-rate perpetual preferred, also built around a $100 stated amount. For October 2026, Strive pays the dividend every business day.

Sats

Short for satoshis, the smallest unit of bitcoin. One bitcoin is 100,000,000 sats.

Stated amount (par)

The reference value per preferred share, usually $100, that dividends are calculated on. A 12% rate on a $100 stated amount means $12 a year per share, whatever the share price.

STRC (Stretch)

Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred. The company adjusts the dividend rate to encourage the shares to trade close to their $100 stated amount. Dividends are cumulative and currently paid twice a month.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 6 ▶ Ep. 11

USD Reserve

Cash Strategy sets aside to cover future preferred dividends and interest, so it does not have to sell bitcoin or issue stock at a bad moment to meet those payments.Covered in: ▶ Ep. 11

Plain-English definitions written by BTC Treasury Desk. Education only.