Markets, MSTR, Bitcoin, MicroStrategy MSTY’s portfolio consists primarily of U.S. Treasury payments, money, and short-term name choices on MSTR, permitting it to synthetically replicate publicity with out immediately proudly owning the inventory.
Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of Strategy (MSTR).
From April 2024 to April 2025, buyers in Strategy (MSTR) and the YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF (MSTY) adopted two distinctly totally different funding paths — one in search of capital appreciation by bitcoin (BTC) publicity, the opposite pursuing month-to-month revenue through options-based methods. Both are linked to the efficiency of MSTR, however their outcomes and buildings diverged considerably.
Strategy, listed on the Nasdaq, has developed from an enterprise software program firm right into a de facto bitcoin proxy. As of April 15, the company holds 531,644 BTC, making its inventory extremely delicate to bitcoin’s value actions. Since adopting its bitcoin treasury technique in August 2020, MSTR shares have surged over 2,500%. However, this progress comes with volatility: Currently, the inventory has an implied volatility of 87%, and a 30-day historic volatility of 102%. MSTR is at the moment 43% under its all-time excessive set in November 2024, reflecting the sharp swings typical of a bitcoin-correlated asset. The inventory pays no dividend.
In distinction, MSTY, launched in April 2024, is an income-focused ETF that doesn’t maintain MSTR shares immediately. MSTY’s portfolio consists primarily of U.S. Treasury payments, money, and short-term name choices on MSTR, permitting it to synthetically replicate publicity with out immediately proudly owning the inventory.
It employs an artificial coated name technique, promoting choices on MSTR to generate month-to-month revenue. This technique limits upside participation however delivers constant money move, interesting to buyers in search of common distributions.
From April 4, 2024 to April 9, 2025, a $1,000 funding in every product produced the next outcomes:
MSTR: Fueled by bitcoin’s sturdy 2024 rally, the funding grew to $1,895, producing a +86% complete return.
MSTY: With 13 month-to-month distributions totaling $36.53 (starting from $4.13 in April 2024 to $1.33 in April 2025) reinvested on every ex-dividend date, the funding reached $1,591, a +59% complete return.
However, MSTY declined 45% over the yr resulting from its full draw back publicity to MSTR’s value actions, with out benefiting absolutely from MSTR’s rallies due to its call-writing technique. Additionally, constant excessive month-to-month distributions — partly labeled as return of capital — decreased the fund’s web asset worth over time, additional weighing on its share value.
MSTY exhibited important volatility in its personal proper, typically buying and selling at premiums or reductions to web asset worth (NAV), introducing further value danger.
The premium/discount exercise in MSTY displays each investor demand and underlying volatility in MSTR. Early excessive volatility supported sturdy choice revenue and buying and selling premiums, however as volatility eased in 2025, premiums narrowed and reductions appeared extra typically. However, a renewed bitcoin rally and rising volatility in MSTR might reverse this development, lifting choice revenue, distributions, and investor demand.
While each merchandise are linked to MSTR’s value motion, they serve distinct functions: MSTR affords high-risk progress potential tied to bitcoin, whereas MSTY delivers yield by a derivatives-based revenue technique with inherent structural limitations.
Unlike conventional revenue methods that target low-volatility, stable-yield investments like broad index ETFs or dividend shares. MSTY is geared towards retail buyers in search of exceptionally excessive revenue — however who’re additionally keen to just accept considerably larger danger and volatility.
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