Strive Asset Management Pitches Bitcoin Treasury Allocation to Intuit

Strive Asset Management's latest push to persuade major corporations to allocate portions of their balance sheet to Bitcoin has landed at the doorstep of Intuit

In its latest move to encourage major corporations to add Bitcoin to their balance sheets, Strive Asset Management has turned its attention to Intuit, the $165 billion fintech firm behind TurboTax, Mailchimp, and other prominent software solutions.

Earlier this year, Strive's efforts led to GameStop, the video game retailer, agreeing to add BTC after months of private engagement.

Now, in an open letter dated April 14, Strive's Chief Executive Officer Matt Cole has addressed Intuit's top leadership—CEO Sasan Goodarzi and Independent Board Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson—suggesting the addition of Bitcoin to Intuit's reserves.

While noting the company's "growth is certainly admirable," Cole ties the company's treasury allocation to a broader hedge "against potential disruption caused by artificial intelligence." This follows a pattern in several of Strive's letters to publicly traded companies.

After praising Intuit's strategic transformation and rise in the fintech sector, Cole expressed concern over Mailchimp, Intuit's email marketing platform, engaging in "censorship and politicized deplatforming" of Bitcoin-related content creators, a move he believes could expose shareholders to reputational and legal risks.

Cole highlighted a recent incident involving the Trojan Bitcoin Club at the University of Southern California, where Mailchimp reportedly closed the club's account "despite the fact that the group does not buy, sell or trade crypto" but focuses on educational activities.

According to reports, the club's members had used a Mailchimp account to organize events and keep members in the university's chapters updated. However, after one member posted a Bitcoin-related article to the club's Facebook group, an action that was not authorized by the university chapter, administrators reportedly decided to close the club's Mailchimp account.

Although Mailchimp later reversed its decision to close the account entirely, reports suggest that it was only reinstated on the condition that the club refrain from discussing the exchange of Bitcoin.

However, Cole argued that this was "not an isolated event," as other Bitcoin advocates—including podcaster Natalie Brunell and software developers—have claimed they were denied Mailchimp's services.

"We are concerned that Intuit's censorship and deplatforming policies discriminate against Bitcoin enthusiasts," Cole wrote, adding that these measures "may have significant financial repercussions for shareholders" and could subject Intuit to potential scrutiny from federal regulators, particularly the Federal Trade Commission.

Pointing toward regulatory probes, Cole mentioned a new FTC inquiry into "how technology platforms deny or degrade users' access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations." He also noted that Intuit has previously faced FTC action over its advertising practices, suggesting there is heightened exposure to legal risk should Mailchimp's policies attract government attention.

"If Mailchimp continues its present course, its legal liability could be staggering," Cole wrote, stating that a federal investigation "alone could cost millions in legal fees, distract the company from its core business, and alienate even more customers."

In addition to the FTC investigation, Cole also brought up a recent lawsuit filed by a group of Mailchimp users who claim they were wrongfully banned from the platform for their political beliefs. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, could further escalate the backlash against Mailchimp and Intuit.

Strive's chief executive also took aim at what he believes is an "anti-Bitcoin bias" that may be preventing Intuit from establishing a "Bitcoin war chest."

Pointing to AI as the next wave of disruptive technology, Cole argued that a corporate BTC reserve could provide Intuit with strategic capital to weather changes in the market.

"Strive is further concerned that Intuit's bias against Bitcoin has left the company with an institutional blind spot when it comes to investing its own cash flows to maximize the company's long-term success. In particular, we fear that Intuit's anti-Bitcoin stance may make it reluctant to consider a treasury allocation to Bitcoin as a viable insurance policy against potential AI disruption," the letter reads.

Strive cites research data that "the S&P 500 will be replaced over the next 10 years," adding "we believe AI is the technological disruptor of our generation, and that companies must position themselves now to mitigate these risks and find alternative means of sustaining shareholder value over time. We believe that TurboTax, Intuit’s flagship product, has a high risk of being automated away by AI."

According to Strive, maintaining a BTC allocation would allow Intuit to counteract the AI revolution.

"We believe an additional hedge is warranted, and that a Bitcoin war chest is the best option available. With a fixed and verifiable supply cap of only 21 million coins, in an era of unchecked monetary expansion, we believe Bitcoin is poised to continue appreciating in value over time. […] We believe creating a Bitcoin war chest now will ensure that Intuit will have enough strategic capital to