Strive Asset Management Transforms Into a BTC Treasury Keeper

Strive Asset Management, a subsidiary of Vivek Ramaswamy's investment firm, is the latest asset manager to announce its transformation into a BTC treasury keeper. The company will be incrementally growing its exposure to BTC per share in the long run.

Announced on Monday, July 17, the asset manager is merging with Asset Entities (ASST), a company listed on NASDAQ. After the merger, the new entity will continue operating under the Strive brand and will aim to raise $1B for future BTC acquisitions.

The goal is to build a BTC treasury with minimal shareholder dilution. The company will be led by Matt Cole as CEO or Chairman of the Board.

Ramaswamy’s firm will hold 94.2% of the new entity, while legacy holders of Asset Entities will retain 5.8% of the stock. The ratio may change after the first BTC acquisitions.

Strive Asset Management will be in charge of the BTC acquisition schedule and the financing of purchases. The company will also 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 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.