Strive Adds $109M in Bitcoin as 13% SATA Preferred Nears $1B, Treasury Reaches 24,531 BTC

Strive’s Bitcoin accumulation engine is running hot—and it’s powered by preferred stock. The Nasdaq-listed asset manager acquired 1,375 BTC between Aug. 31 and Sept. 4 for roughly $109 million, averaging $79,281 per coin, according to CEO Matt Cole. The stack now sits at 24,531 BTC—about $1.9 billion at current prices—marking a third consecutive week of 5%-plus growth.

The financing pivot: high-yield preferred as the Bitcoin carry

Here’s the fulcrum: 70% of last week’s raise came from SATA, Strive’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock. SATA pays a 13% annual dividend and is being sold near its $100 face value, with $999 million in notional outstanding. Cole signaled he intends to push that figure over $1 billion. Strive routes the proceeds straight into BTC, avoiding scheduled debt repayments and limiting immediate dilution of common equity ($ASST), while offering income-oriented buyers a steady coupon that doesn’t swing with Bitcoin.

This structure is elegant but path-dependent. Another firm’s analog—Strategy’s STRC—traded well below par during a drawdown, forcing its first BTC sale since 2022 to fund the dividend. SATA has held closer to par so far, yet it has not been through a similarly deep stress cycle. A 13% dividend is effectively Strive’s acquisition “carry.” If BTC compounds well above that, the trade can remain accretive to common; if price chops or slides, the coupon becomes a cash drain that can crowd out future buys or force balance-sheet maneuvers. Daily dividend payments, recently introduced on SATA, likely improve investor appetite but also increase the cadence of cash needs.

Velocity check: three-week expansion of 21.1%

Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton detailed the pace: holdings rose 5.9% week over week, from 23,156 BTC to 24,531 BTC, the third straight week above 5%. Over the past three weeks, the stack expanded 21.1%, from 20,245 BTC to 24,531 BTC. SATA outstanding stands at $999 million and is scaling.

Ambition is clear. Strive is attempting to close the distance to Twenty One Capital, the Tether-backed firm with roughly 43,500 BTC—second only to Strategy among public-company treasuries. The gap is about 19,000 BTC. With 16 weeks left in 2026, bridging it would imply around 1,200 BTC per week—terrain Strive has touched only in its most aggressive spurts.

Positioning in the corporate BTC league table

As of today, Strive is the fifth-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, ahead of names like SpaceX, Coinbase, and Trump Media and Technology Group, per Bitcoin Treasuries data. The ascent has been rapid. Strive did not operate as a Bitcoin company a year ago; it went public in September 2025 via a merger with Asset Entities, then added roughly 5,048 BTC by buying Semler Scientific, which had amassed its own BTC position.

The firm—co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate now running for Ohio governor—has since purchased Bitcoin almost weekly, financing with a rotating mix of common stock and SATA preferred ($SATA).

Market, capital, and risk context

- Bitcoin trades near $78,453, up about 1.3% on the day, with a 24-hour range of $77,666 to $79,432 and roughly $1.5 billion in volume. Myriad odds show a 52% chance BTC stays between $78,000 and $80,000 today and a 54% chance it holds above $78,000 this week, per CoinGecko-derived data. - During the crypto winter, Strive reported a $265.9 million net loss in Q1, driven largely by unrealized losses on BTC. $ASST fell 86% from a post-merger high of $130 by mid-May before rebounding alongside Bitcoin. Management introduced daily dividends on SATA to deepen the buyer base. - Liquidity appears resilient: cash rose from $183.5 million to $202.6 million last week even after the BTC purchase. - Optionality remains: management points to more than $700 million in outstanding warrants that could bring in as much as $1.4 billion earmarked for future Bitcoin buys.

My read on SATA’s durability

SATA’s approach aims to convert yield-seeking capital into perpetual BTC exposure without hard maturities. That can work so long as three conditions hold: market confidence keeps SATA near par, realized BTC appreciation offsets the 13% dividend over time, and operating liquidity comfortably covers coupons through drawdowns. Any breach—par slippage, prolonged sideways price action, or a sharp drawdown—can tighten the system and force defensive actions, including BTC sales. The goal to average roughly 1,200 BTC per week to catch Twenty One Capital would likely require sustained preferred issuance and cooperative markets. Watching SATA’s price behavior versus par, cash coverage for dividends, and any shift in issuance pace will be more telling than the headline stack alone.

Strive’s third straight 5%+ weekly increase and a preferred program brushing the $1 billion mark show a funding machine that is, for now, syncing with the Bitcoin bid. The real test arrives when volatility turns from friend to creditor.