Three Bitcoin Purchases Reshape the Rankings

The Nasdaq-listed company, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, executed several major purchases this month, turning a series of capital raises into one of October’s largest corporate bitcoin accumulation campaigns.

The first tranche delivered 3,311 BTC for approximately $280 million, at an average price of $84,500 per coin. Strive followed with another 2,822 BTC for $235 million on Oct. 12-13, lifting its holdings to 35,595 BTC and narrowly overtaking MARA’s reported 35,577 BTC.

It wasn’t finished. Another 1,223 BTC, purchased for approximately $100 million between Oct. 14 and Oct. 16, pushed Strive’s total to 36,818 BTC. That placed Strive fourth among publicly traded corporate bitcoin holders, behind Strategy, Metaplanet, and Twenty One Capital.

On Monday, Strive CEO Matt Cole took to X and wrote:

“Strive acquired 6,182 BTC for $511.4M at an average cost of $82,732 per bitcoin, bringing total holdings to ₿43,000.”

A $630 Million Preferred Stock Offering Fuels Ambitions

Strive’s buying power didn’t materialize out of thin air. Warrant exercises on Oct. 12-13 generated approximately $369 million in expected gross proceeds while issuing roughly 13.7 million new Class A shares. The company also priced an upsized offering of its Series A perpetual preferred stock, trading under SATS, with approximately $630 million in expected gross proceeds.

SATS carries a fixed 15% annual dividend on its $100 stated amount. With shares initially offered at $90, the effective annual yield at issuance exceeded 16%, assuming dividends are paid. Unlike companies relying heavily on convertible debt, Strive has emphasized a debt-free balance sheet funded through equity and preferred securities. The trade-off? Existing ASST shareholders still face dilution, while preferred dividends create continuing financial obligations.

Strive Targets Second Place as Bitcoin Prices Retreat

At bitcoin prices around $80,000, Strive’s 43,000 BTC represented approximately $3.45 billion in market value. The company’s transformation began with its 2025 Bitcoin treasury pivot and accelerated through its acquisition of Semler Scientific, which brought approximately 5,048 BTC into the combined business.

CEO Matt Cole has expressed ambitions to finish 2026 as the second-largest publicly traded corporate bitcoin holder, an objective requiring thousands of additional coins. Strive’s strategy hinges on increasing bitcoin holdings per share without allowing equity dilution to erase the benefits. That balancing act becomes harder when bitcoin trades below portions of the company’s acquisition cost.

With fresh preferred-stock capital available and bitcoin prices retreating, Strive faces an intriguing question: Can it keep climbing the corporate rankings without leaving shareholders footing an increasingly expensive bill?

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