The YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF, ticker MSTY, launched in February 2024 under the Tidal ETF Trust II umbrella. The fund uses a synthetic covered call strategy on MicroStrategy shares to generate income through selling call spreads and options. At various points, annualized yields have reportedly exceeded 100%. The catch: shareholders face effectively unlimited downside exposure to MSTR’s price swings, with only the premiums collected acting as a cushion.
The weekly payout machine and its shrinking output
MSTY recently transitioned to weekly distributions. On July 1, 2026, the fund declared a weekly dividend of $0.1549 per share. Earlier payouts reached above $0.50 per share at their peak. The current range has settled between roughly $0.15 and $0.23 per share.
Analysts have flagged that a meaningful portion of MSTY’s distributions likely constitute return of capital rather than genuine investment income. The fund’s net asset value has experienced considerable erosion alongside frequent distributions, illustrating an asymmetric risk profile where upside participation is capped by the covered call strategy but downside exposure runs essentially unchecked.
The MicroStrategy-Bitcoin chain reaction
