Strive is also actively taking part in debates over whether Bitcoin-heavy companies should remain in major MSCI indices. On the other hand, Twenty One Capital’s high-profile market debut faltered, with shares dropping by close to 20% despite backing from Tether, SoftBank, Bitfinex, and CEO Jack Mallers. The company now holds more than 43,500 BTC, placing it among the largest public Bitcoin owners.
Strive Pushes BTC Expansion
Strive, the publicly traded asset manager that transformed itself into one of the most aggressive Bitcoin-accumulating companies in the United States, announced a new $500 million stock sales program to expand its BTC holdings even more. The firm was co-founded in 2022 by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Strive said on Tuesday that it plans to allocate proceeds from the offering toward general corporate purposes. A key part of that strategy includes buying more Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related products, as well as investing in unspecified income-generating assets to support long-term business growth.
Strive very firmly aligned itself with the corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy that was pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which normalized the idea of publicly traded companies using equity markets to accumulate BTC as a balance-sheet reserve asset. With 7,525 BTC currently held, which is worth roughly $694 million at today’s price, Strive now ranks as the 14th-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.
Top largest Bitcoin treasury companies (Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET)
That position was strengthened earlier this year after the company revealed a strategic pivot toward a BTC-centric treasury via a public reverse merger in May, followed by its September agreement to acquire Semler Scientific. The acquisition moved Strive even higher on the leaderboard of corporate Bitcoin owners and signaled its intention to become a long-term player in the digital-asset treasury ecosystem.
Strive’s rise in the sector comes alongside growth in its asset-management business. Since launching its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in August of 2022, the company accumulated over $2 billion in assets under management. Investor appetite seems to reflect that momentum. Strive’s stock (ASST) climbed 3.6% on Tuesday to close at $1.02, more than doubling in value since the start of the year.
Strive YTD stock price (Source: Google Finance)
The latest announcement also arrives during Strive’s campaign to influence how major index providers treat companies with big crypto holdings. Earlier this month, CEO Matt Cole publicly urged MSCI to reconsider any move to exclude digital-asset treasury companies from its indices, arguing that markets—not index committees—should decide whether investors want exposure to firms that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
MSCI has been consulting with investors on whether to classify companies with more than 50% crypto assets as unsuitable for passive investment products, which could greatly impact the growing DAT sector.
Bitcoin Giant Debut Disappoints Investors
Meanwhile, shares in Twenty One Capital (XXI), the newest US crypto treasury-style company, fell almost 20% on its trading debut this week, after completing its merger with the blank-check firm Cantor Equity Partners. The stock opened at $10.74 on Tuesday, which was way below the SPAC’s prior closing price of $14.27, and finished Wednesday at $11.42. Despite a mild 4% recovery in after-hours trading to $11.92, the company’s market capitalization sits at roughly $4 billion.
Twenty One Capital share price over the past 24 hours (Source: Yahoo Finance)
The debut drew a lot of attention given the company’s heavyweight backers. Twenty One Capital is backed by major stablecoin issuer Tether, Bitfinex, and Japan’s SoftBank Group. Strike founder Jack Mallers was also appointed as the company's CEO, which added to expectations surrounding the listing. The firm currently holds more than 43,500 BTC—valued at over $4 billion—making it the third-largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin, trailing only MARA Holdings among miners and Strategy.
Despite its massive Bitcoin position, Mallers explained that Twenty One Capital should not be viewed as merely another Bitcoin treasury company. Speaking to CNBC, he said the firm wants to build an operating business focused on Bitcoin products, rather than relying solely on the performance of its holdings. Mallers said the company expects to reveal more concrete plans “sooner rather than later,” and urged investors not to price the stock purely on its asset value.
This clarification is interesting given the rise of similar “crypto treasury” companies that have gone public this year, following the model championed by Strategy. Those firms enjoyed heightened investor interest when BTC surged to record highs in October, but market weakness has since weighed heavily on their share prices.
Mallers is betting that his leadership, combined with Tether’s involvement and a sharp strategic focus on Bitcoin, will help stabilize and differentiate the company.
