Strive Asset Management has raised $750 million in funding, with the potential for an additional $750 million through the exercise of warrants, totaling up to $1.5 billion. The funds will be used to purchase Bitcoin, with the firm employing strategies distinct from those of other BTC treasury companies. Strive Asset Management, co-founded by billionaire Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, announced a financial deal to raise $750 million, mainly for purchasing Bitcoin.
The private investment public equity (PIPE) financing deal with Asset Entities, a publicly traded company with which it plans to merge, allows for an additional $750 million in funding upon exercise of the warrants. Strive CEO Matt Cole said, “Most Bitcoin treasury companies are valued based on multiples of their Bitcoin holdings, as their strategies are tied to leveraged beta to Bitcoin. By contrast, our alpha-generating Bitcoin accumulation strategies are designed to drive sustained outperformance relative to Bitcoin itself, requiring a new valuation framework.”
Strive aims to outperform peer Bitcoin treasury companies by employing innovative approaches to Bitcoin accumulation, rather than traditional methods such as convertible notes, preferred stock, or at-the-market equity offerings used by companies like Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy.
The PIPE investment and the warrant price for Asset Entities (ASST) are $1.35 per share, over 100% higher than the closing share price before the merger announcement.
Strive secures funds for bitcoin acquisition
This financing will unlock Strive’s “first wave” of Bitcoin accumulation strategies, called “alpha” strategies.
These include purchasing distressed Bitcoin claims, unlocking discounted cash through acquisitions, and buying the bottom tranches of structured Bitcoin credit vehicles. Strive chose not to raise any debt financing in this transaction to keep maximum leverage capacity for the future. Strive isn’t a typical ‘Bitcoin treasury company’—we are an alpha-generating asset manager using Bitcoin as our store of value and our hurdle rate for capital allocation,” the firm stated.
Strive first announced plans to merge with Asset Entities and create a Bitcoin treasury in early May. Previously, the financial services company had proposed adding Bitcoin to its holdings, advocating for companies like GameStop to convert their cash reserves to BTC; however, no Bitcoin purchases have been disclosed yet. Shares of Asset Entities, ASST, are down nearly 23% on the day to $8.07 but are up over 1,400% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin has risen around 0.6% on the day to a current price of $109,710, near last Thursday’s all-time high of $111,814.