Strive Asset Management (ASST) added 2,500 bitcoin to its treasury between May 23 and June 1, paying an average of $74,092 per coin for a total of roughly $185.2 million. The purchase lifted its total holdings from 16,500 BTC to 19,000 BTC. ASST stock fell more than 9% to $15.60 in early Tuesday trading.
The move pushed Strive past Coinbase and Riot Platforms in the corporate bitcoin holder rankings. It now sits seventh among publicly traded companies, around 5,300 BTC behind sixth-place Bullish.
The latest buy came in at a lower average price than Strive’s previous purchase of 1,109 BTC at $76,989 on May 22. That suggests the company was buying into the dip as bitcoin slid from above $74,000 to around $70,800 during the week.
The timing stood out. Strive was buying while its much larger peer, Strategy (MSTR), was selling. Strategy disclosed it sold 32 bitcoin for about $2.5 million — its first reported sale since late 2022 — saying proceeds would fund dividends on its STRC perpetual preferred stock. That sale rattled the broader crypto market and pushed bitcoin to a nearly one-month low of around $68,500.
Unlike Strategy, which leans on convertible debt and bitcoin-backed leverage, Strive funds its treasury through perpetual preferred stock issuance. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, who initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $32 price target on Tuesday, called this one of the “most differentiated capital structures in the bitcoin treasury sector.”
Palmer noted that Strive retired all debt from its earlier acquisition of fellow bitcoin treasury firm Semler Scientific. That leaves it with no outstanding debt and no encumbered bitcoin.
He wrote that this “substantially reduces Strive’s liquidation and refinancing risk relative to more highly levered bitcoin treasury peers.”
Strive also manages over $2.5 billion in assets through its asset management arm, which Benchmark flagged as a source of recurring revenue supporting ongoing BTC accumulation.
Strive reported a quarter-to-date BTC yield of 23.0% and a year-to-date yield of 36.7%. These figures track growth in bitcoin holdings on a per-share basis, accounting for dilution from new share issuance.
The company also reported an amplification ratio of 57.0%, meaning shareholders’ bitcoin exposure grew faster than bitcoin’s own price appreciation during the period.
Cash and cash equivalents rose to $137.3 million from $93.3 million. CEO Matt Cole said on X that cash was increased to maintain an 18-month dividend reserve. The company also kept its roughly $50 million position in Strategy’s STRC preferred stock.
Benchmark’s $32 price target implies roughly 93% upside from the pre-market Class A share price of $16.58, before the stock dropped further in early trading.
Bitcoin was trading near $68,500 on Tuesday morning, its lowest level in nearly a month.
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