According to Woofun AI, in a market where Bitcoin prices remain under pressure, the expansion narratives of crypto treasury companies are undergoing sharp divergence.
While industry giant Strategy (MSTR.US) has notably slowed its buying pace and Metaplanet has redirected newly raised funds toward debt repayment, Strive (ASST.US) has bucked the trend with aggressive moves, spending heavily to acquire 7,356 Bitcoins in just two weeks and quickly becoming a market focus.
Strive's rise is no accident; it is backed by a unique capital operation logic. The Dallas-based company was co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, with Matt Cole serving as Chairman and CEO. In September 2025, Strive officially listed on Nasdaq through a merger with Asset Entities, then quickly acquired Semler Scientific, billing itself as the first listed asset-management-style Bitcoin treasury company. Unlike traditional treasury companies, Strive uses the growth of "Bitcoin per share" as its core capital allocation benchmark and has abandoned traditional debt financing in favor of perpetual preferred stock for expansion. Its capital structure includes SATA, a floating-rate preferred stock paying dividends on business days, and recently added SATS, a fixed-rate instrument. This hybrid financing approach provides ammunition for its aggressive buying.
With the completion of its latest round of purchases, Strive's total Bitcoin holdings climbed to 36,818 coins, overtaking MARA Holdings (MARA.US) to rank fourth among listed companies. It now trails second-place Metaplanet, which holds 44,000 coins, by just 7,182 coins. This leap was driven by efficient fundraising: on October 15, Strive issued 7 million shares of 15% fixed-dividend preferred stock SATS at $90 per share, raising approximately $630 million, with settlement completed on October 20. Although CEO Matt Cole has publicly stated the goal of becoming the second-largest public holder by year-end, the company has not committed to using all newly raised funds for Bitcoin purchases, leaving the ultimate destination of the capital uncertain.
In terms of buying pace, Strive's offensive has shown a week-by-week escalation. Data compiled by Woofun AI shows that from September 28 to October 2, the company bought 2,000 coins; the following week (October 5-9), purchases rose to 3,311 coins; and in the most recent week (October 12-16), purchases surged further to 4,045 coins. In terms of transaction details, the most recent week's purchases were split into two tranches: 2,822 coins bought from October 12-13 at a cost of approximately $235 million; and 1,223 coins bought from October 14-16 at an average price of approximately $81,734. The combined average price for both tranches was approximately $82,803. Broken down by week, the first week's average purchase price was approximately $84,422, bringing holdings to 29,462 coins; the second week's average was approximately $84,500, raising holdings to 32,773 coins; and the third week's average was approximately $82,803, bringing total holdings to 36,818 coins. Notably, the funding sources for these three weeks differed: the first week relied mainly on SATA issuance, the second week came from SATA's ATM offering, and the third week primarily stemmed from warrant exercises.
Looking at the overall market holding landscape, Strategy holds a commanding lead with 848,517 coins; Metaplanet ranks second with 44,000 coins; Twenty One Capital (XXI.US) ranks third with 43,514 coins; Strive follows closely with 36,818 coins; and fifth-place MARA Holdings holds 35,577 coins, just 1,241 coins behind Strive. Back in early 2026, Strive's holdings were only about 7,525 coins, making its explosive growth remarkable. According to media calculations, if Strive hopes to surpass Metaplanet by year-end, it needs to buy approximately 700 Bitcoins per week on average. This goal seems achievable at the current buying pace but requires sustained funding support.
By contrast, second-ranked Metaplanet has recently adopted a more conservative strategy. On October 13, Metaplanet announced the issuance of 52 billion yen in zero-coupon convertible bonds, with proceeds not used for Bitcoin purchases but rather to repay approximately 23.6 billion yen in Bitcoin-collateralized loans and to repurchase approximately 28.3 billion yen worth of shares. As of the end of September, Metaplanet's borrowings accounted for 17.7% of its Bitcoin net asset value, exceeding the company's self-imposed 10% ceiling. In the third quarter, Metaplanet first sold 10,000 Bitcoins, then bought back 11,000, for a net increase of 1,000 coins, overtaking Twenty One Capital to rise to second place. This deleveraging approach contrasts sharply with Strive's aggressive expansion.
Strive's SATS financing structure is ingeniously designed but comes with high costs. On October 13, Strive launched the SATS offering, initially planning 5 million shares; on the evening of October 15, the company upsized it to 7 million shares, priced at $90 per share, raising approximately $630 million, with Barclays (BCS.US) and Cantor leading the underwriting. The offering settled on October 20, and SATS was immediately listed on Nasdaq. SATS carries a 15% annual cumulative dividend rate based on $100 par value, accruing daily, with the first dividend payment date on November 9. At the $90 offering price, the effective yield is approximately 16.7%; based on $700 million in total par value, annual dividend payments amount to approximately $105 million. At settlement, the company funded a dividend reserve at $22.50 per share (equivalent to 18 months of dividends), totaling approximately $157.5 million. In terms of liquidation priority, SATS ranks below the previously issued floating-rate preferred SATA but above common stock. After the offering, Strive's capital structure consists of approximately $2.8 billion in common stock, $1.4 billion in SATA, and $700 million in SATS, with no debt.
In terms of purchasing power, based on approximately $608 million in net proceeds, if all were used to buy Bitcoin at around $83,000, approximately 7,330 coins could be purchased, bringing holdings to about 44,150 coins, just about 150 more than Metaplanet's 44,000. Closing the 7,182-coin gap would require approximately $596 million, only about $12.2 million less than the net proceeds. Once Bitcoin's price exceeds approximately $84,700, the net proceeds alone would be insufficient to complete the overtake, requiring SATA or other funding to supplement. Additionally, the $157.5 million dividend reserve comes from the company's cash on hand and securities held, not from offering proceeds.
The launch of SATS is directly related to warrant expiration. Strive previously had a batch of traditional warrants with a $27 exercise price corresponding to 15,255,900 shares, the last tranche of which expired worthless on October 13. Concentrated exercises on October 12 and 13 brought the company approximately $369 million and added approximately 13.7 million Class A common shares. CEO Cole stated that after the warrants were cleared out, it was the right time to launch a second preferred stock. The company's stated uses of funds include buying Bitcoin and related products, acquiring income-generating assets, and repurchasing common stock or SATA, but it has not specified exact proportions or timelines. The company mentioned in its 8-K that as long as Bitcoin remains below $100,000, management aims to maintain an amplification ratio above 60%.
Compared with industry leader Strategy, Strive's purchase volume shows a multiple-level difference. From October 5-11, Strive bought 3,311 coins while Strategy bought only 250, about 13 times the latter. From October 12-18, Strategy's 8-K showed it bought 267 coins at an average price of approximately $82,900, with holdings of 848,517 coins; during the same period, Strive bought 4,045 coins, about 15 times Strategy's amount. It should be emphasized that this compares two weeks of purchase volume, not holdings size: Strategy's holdings are still more than 20 times Strive's. Strategy's focus has shifted to capital structure management. Its October 19 8-K showed the board raised the preferred stock repurchase authorization from $2 billion to $3 billion, with $1.16 billion remaining as of October 18; during the week of October 5-11, it repurchased $192.4 million worth of STRC. This summer, Strategy also sold Bitcoin to repurchase STRC and pay preferred stock dividends (see its July 6 and August 10 8-Ks). Strive takes a different path: financing Bitcoin purchases with preferred stock while avoiding debt. Its leverage comes from two layers of perpetual preferred stock—SATA and SATS—rather than convertible bonds. Strive acquired Semler Scientific in an all-stock deal worth approximately $1.3-1.4 billion, completed in January 2026, marking the first instance of a listed Bitcoin treasury company acquiring a peer. Strive was co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy and held only about 70 Bitcoins before its September 2025 listing and merger announcement; according to company disclosures, its BTC yield has reached 63.2% year-to-date.
However, multiple risks lurk behind Strive's aggressive strategy. First is cash pressure. Preferred stock sits between equity and debt; the company promises to pay dividends at agreed rates regularly and ranks ahead of common stock. SATS has a fixed 15% dividend rate, is non-convertible, and is essentially more like high-interest borrowing—regardless of Bitcoin's rise or fall, the company must pay approximately $105 million in cash annually. The company's other preferred stock, SATA, has approximately 13.5 million shares (disclosed in early October), equivalent to approximately $1.35 billion at $100 par value per share; its dividend rate is not fixed and is adjusted by the company, at approximately 13% in September. Combined, the two preferred stocks require approximately $280 million in annual dividend payments. The company has set aside cash equivalent to 18 months of dividends as a reserve, so there is no short-term concern, but once the reserve is depleted, it will still need new financing or operating income to cover.
Second is unrealized losses. Bitcoin has fallen significantly from its high of approximately $120,000 in October 2025, and the market value of Strive's holdings is below purchase cost, mainly dragged down by earlier high-price purchases. The company's recent purchase prices ranged from $81,000 to $85,000, while Bitcoin's current price is approximately $82,000 to $84,000, meaning recent weeks' purchases are essentially break-even.
Third is the seniority of preferred stock claims. Preferred shareholders rank ahead of common shareholders, so the more preferred stock issued, the less common shareholders receive. The company's most valued metric is "Bitcoin per share," but this figure does not reflect the higher-priority claims created by preferred stock. As of September 30, SATA's par value accounted for approximately 55.3% of Bitcoin value—meaning for every $100 of Bitcoin, about $55 must first correspond to preferred stock—and this ratio does not yet include SATS. Additionally, the company disclosed in early October a SATA repurchase authorization of up to $500 million, but this exceeds the cash disclosed at the time by approximately $210 million. Whether it will be used remains unclear, and money spent on repurchases cannot be used to buy Bitcoin.
Finally, there is short-selling pressure. September data showed approximately 23.1% of outstanding shares were sold short, equivalent to about one in every 4.3 shares being bet against. Cole said ASST is more heavily shorted than any company in the S&P 500 and described October's price action as a battle between shorts and warrant holders. Warrant holders want the stock price above the $27 exercise price, while shorts are betting on a decline. On Wall Street, all 5 brokerages covering the stock give it a buy rating, with 1 hold and 1 sell. Next worth watching is the 8-K to be released on the evening of October 26, which will be the first purchase disclosure after SATS settled on October 20, showing how much of the new funds actually flowed into Bitcoin. Also, on November 9, SATS will pay its first dividend—an important test of whether the fixed dividend can be paid on time. Furthermore, whether the $500 million SATA repurchase authorization will be used will also affect the company's available cash for Bitcoin purchases.
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