Strive Acquires 3,311 BTC in a Week, Outpacing Strategy by 13 Times

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a shift in bitcoin purchasing leaders. Strive Asset Management (Nasdaq: ASST), led by Matthew Cole, acquired 3,311 bitcoins for approximately $280 million from October 5 to 9, buying on the dip at an average price of around $84,500. This is Strive's largest purchase since January, concluding a series: $94.5 million at the end of September, $169 million at the beginning of October, and now $280 million. The total stack is 32,773 BTC, about $2.73 billion.

During the same period, Michael Saylor's Strategy purchased only 250 BTC for approximately $21.5 million. Strive outpaced Strategy in purchase volume by about 13 times. Strategy's purchases have been declining for two consecutive weeks, and it spent about $192 million on buying back its own preferred shares—almost nine times more than on bitcoin. Strategy's mNAV indicator fell below 1.0 for the first time: the market values the company less than the bitcoins on its balance sheet.

In terms of total reserves, the gap remains huge: Strategy holds 848,250 BTC (about $51 billion), more than 25 times Strive's stack. Saylor remains the largest holder, but "largest holder" and "most aggressive buyer right now" have become two different titles for the first time.

Strive is selling 5 million shares of a new class of preferred stock at $100 each—raising $500 million with a fixed rate of 15%. That's 15% annually, or $75 million a year in cash: an expensive way to be right. But with STRC priced at $99.90, Saylor's tap seems likely to open again soon. The battle of the bitcoin giants begins.