Michael Saylor turned corporate Bitcoin buying into an art form. Now Vivek Ramaswamy wants a piece of that action. His firm, Strive Asset Management, announced Tuesday it’s raising $500 million through a preferred stock sale, with most of the cash earmarked for Bitcoin and related products.
The move puts Strive in an esteemed position. The publicly traded asset manager, which Ramaswamy founded in 2022, already holds 7,525 BTC, worth roughly $694 million. That makes it the 14th-biggest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world, and this latest capital raise could push it even higher on that list.
From Traditional Finance to Crypto Treasury
Strive Enterprises did not begin its corporate life as a Bitcoin champion. Last May, the firm operated as a conventional asset manager focused on traditional equities. That changed abruptly with a reverse merger that installed new leadership and a sharp new mandate. In August, Strive announced a $40 million all-stock deal to acquire Semler Scientific, which had already amassed one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries in the U.S. When the transaction closes, which is expected early next year, the combined entity will hold more than 2,300 BTC, instantly placing Strive among the most heavily Bitcoin-exposed public companies in the world.
The pivot has not gone unnoticed on Wall Street. Last week, Matt Cole, chairman and chief executive officer of Strive, publicly challenged index provider MSCI over its proposed policy of excluding companies with significant cryptocurrency exposure from certain benchmarks. In a detailed seven-page letter, Cole argued the move would punish innovation and distort market signals. Investors appeared to endorse the stance: Strive shares rose 3.6% on Tuesday to close at $1.02. The stock remains highly volatile, having traded as low as $0.34 and as high as $13.42 over the past twelve months.
