Strive Asset Management joins the Bitcoin treasury trend

Strive Asset Management, a subsidiary of Vivek Ramaswamy’s investment fund, is the latest investment company to announce its transformation into a BTC treasury keeper. The company will grow its exposure to BTC per share in the long run. 

Strive Asset Management announced its plan to build a Bitcoin treasury, joining a growing list of companies with plans to acquire BTC. To achieve its plan, Strive Asset Management will merge with NASDAQ-listed Asset Entities (ASST) to form a publicly traded company.

The new entity will aim to raise $1B for future BTC acquisitions. It will operate under the Strive brand, with the goal of building a BTC treasury with minimal shareholder dilution. The company will be led by Matt Cole as CEO or Chairman of the Board.

Strive Asset Management is a subsidiary of Strive Enterprises, Inc., a financial services firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy. He has been known for his bullish stance on crypto, campaigning to stop the previous administration’s war on crypto. He has also supported Tether’s approach to using US Treasuries as a reliable reserve for stablecoins. 

Strive Enterprises will remain a private company, but will own 94.2% of the new entity. Legacy holders of Asset Entities will retain 5.8% of the stock. The ratio may change after the first BTC acquisitions.

Strive Asset Management offers equity for BTC

The new company will be in charge of the BTC acquisition schedule and the financing of purchases. The company will be the first to offer an exchange of BTC for public company equity. This will allow Strive Asset Management to tap BTC holders directly, calling for swaps between coins and equity. The approach would circumvent exchanges and OTC markets. 

This form of acquisition will be tax-free under Section 351 of the US Tax Code. The company plans to use novel financial strategies to finance BTC acquisition, diverging from the usual path of other buyers that utilize bonds or stock issuance. 

Strive Asset Management also plans to seek cash at a discount by merging with publicly traded companies valued below their net cash positions. The fund will also look for additional leverage using fixed income and derivative markets. 

The fund is relatively small, with $2B in assets under management, but aims to follow the expansion track of Strategy (MSTR) and other earlier buyers. Acquiring a BTC treasury has turned into a tool for exposure and a higher public profile, in addition to voting long-term confidence in the BTC market. 

BTC treasuries boost long-term confidence

BTC treasuries continued to grow in Q1, driven by the ongoing Strategy acquisitions happening with weekly regularity. Newer buyers have average prices as high as $85,000, as BTC recovered to a higher price range. 

In total, treasuries increased to 3.29M BTC, from around 3.03M BTC at the start of the year. Already, 192 public companies have built or retained legacy BTC treasuries, expanding beyond public miners. 

The smallest treasury is currently just 17 BTC, with many companies acquiring a few hundred coins in occasional or regular deals.