Bitcoin Treasury shakeout deepens as Strive buys more while rivals retreat

The corporate purchases of Bitcoin resumed this week, creating additional demand in the market that has already risen significantly throughout August. Strive bought Bitcoin for approximately $143 million while Strategy came back from a roughly ten-week hiatus and bought approximately $370 million worth of Bitcoin, further indicating the ongoing interest from corporate buyers who have turned into a new source of demand for the crypto-assets.

As for the larger market, timing plays a crucial role. Even as of Monday, Bitcoin was trading near $78,600, closing August up by more than 24%. The return of some significant treasury buyers eliminates another burden that has been put on the industry when those firms stopped purchasing or in some situations sold Bitcoin.

Treasury buyers return as Bitcoin holds near $79,000

The buying spree comes after a period of uncertainty regarding treasury trades. Strategy, founded by Michael Saylor and the company which pioneered the model, resumed buying BTC last week, acquiring 4,603 BTC worth $369.7 million and bringing its total holdings up to 845,050 BTC.

The acquisition marked the firm’s first Bitcoin purchase in 10 weeks. However, in that interim, Strategy sold 6,916 BTC for approximately $430 million between June 30 and August 10 to help enhance its liquidity position.

Tom Lee’s Bitmine was also in the market with its largest Ethereum purchase since June. All of these actions indicate that the digital-assets treasury companies are returning to accumulation mode as prices recover.

On August 25, Bitcoin hit a price in excess of $80,000 for the first time since mid-May, aided by a softer U.S. dollar and increasing fears of debasement, as per a report by Reuters.

Publicly-traded firms are reported to have approximately 1.264 million Bitcoin across a total of 198 companies according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Nevertheless, these holdings as mentioned are highly concentrated. The top five listed companies today have about 78.4% of the total amount of Bitcoin among public companies with Strategy having independently more than 66% of the total amount.

That concentration matters. Corporate demand can return quickly, but aggregate flows still depend heavily on a relatively small group of companies with access to capital markets.

Strive climbs to the fifth-largest corporate holder

Strive bought 1,800 BTC between August 24 and 28 at an average price of $79,431 per coin, including fees and expenses, according to a Form 8-K filed Monday. The purchase lifted its stash from 21,356 BTC to 23,156 BTC.

With the acquisition, Strive became fifth in the Bitcoin Treasuries’ rankings of public equity Bitcoin holders, surpassing Bullish.

The buying speed of Strive has greatly increased. The company purchased 20 BTC in the last week of July, acquired 79 BTC from August 10-14, and in the subsequent week acquired 1,110 BTC, followed by 1,800 BTC the week that ended August 28.

TD Cowen lifts its price target on ASST

Wall Street responded positively to the acquisition. TD Cowen increased its pricing target for Strive’s stock from $28 to $32, up 14%, while maintaining its buy recommendation.

ASST’s stock increased by about 6% to around $23 Monday morning, and the asset is up almost 165% over the last six months, according to The Block.

As of August 28, Strive’s year-to-date Bitcoin yield stood at 40.8%. TD Cowen anticipates that the company will purchase approximately 4,300 BTC in the third quarter, which is more than 180% higher than its earlier projection of 1,500 BTC.

The new filing also reiterates why dilution is so important to the model. Bitcoin’s value held by Strive increased by 8.4% in the interval between August 21 and 28. However, during this same period the number of effective common shares increased by about 4.0%. This means that Bitcoin held for each effective common share increased by approximately 4.3%.

Why the treasury model cuts both ways

The demand story has a counterweight. The Financial Times reported that Bitcoin treasury companies had shed more than $80 billion in market value from their mid-2025 peak as the model unwound.

Strive itself reported a GAAP net loss of $257.6 million in the second quarter, with $234 million tied to fair-value declines in its Bitcoin and Strategy preferred-stock holdings.

That volatility is the trade-off. When Bitcoin rises and capital markets stay receptive, companies can issue securities, buy more coins and reinforce buying pressure. When Bitcoin falls or equity premiums disappear, the same mechanism can reverse through dilution, financing stress or outright Bitcoin sales.

The latest purchases show the treasury flywheel turning again. Whether it becomes a durable source of global crypto demand will depend on whether these companies can keep raising capital faster than Bitcoin volatility erodes the premiums that make the strategy work.

The Financial Times says companies that copied Strategy’s model included businesses such as a Spanish coffee chain and Japanese clothing retailer. As the treasury model deteriorated, some companies began selling crypto and returning toward their original operations. This means Strive’s $143M purchase may actually be evidence of a shakeout, not a broad revival.

The corporate crypto-treasury experiment is entering a selection phase: the strongest operators are accumulating aggressively while weaker or more financially constrained companies are retreating, restructuring or losing the executives who built their crypto strategies.