Strive Buys Record 6,182 BTC for $511M While Strategy Pauses Purchases and Spends $205M on STRC Buybacks

Strive, the Bitcoin treasury company led by Vivek Ramaswamy and trading under the ticker ASST, completed its largest-ever single Bitcoin purchase, acquiring 6,182 BTC for $511.4 million at an average price of approximately $82,732 per coin, inclusive of fees and expenses, during the period from October 17 through October 23. The purchase increased the company's Bitcoin balance by 16.8% and lifted total holdings to 43,000 BTC, now valued at roughly $3.45 billion. Strive simultaneously unveiled a new $1 billion at-the-market preferred stock offering program to fund further accumulation.

The 43,000 BTC total positions Strive as the fourth-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin treasury and places it within approximately 1,000 BTC of Japan's Metaplanet, which holds around 44,000 BTC, and within roughly 514 BTC of Twenty One, which holds 43,514 BTC. Strive's stated goal is to finish 2026 as the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Its cash and cash equivalents rose to $504.4 million as of October 23, up from $317.5 million a week earlier, reflecting the close of a $630 million preferred-stock offering during the same period.

In contrast, Michael Saylor's Strategy made no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the week of October 19 through 25, its first pause since mid-September, leaving holdings unchanged at 848,517 BTC acquired for a total of $64.02 billion at an average price of $75,446 per coin. Instead, Strategy repurchased $204.9 million worth of its STRC preferred stock, buying back 2,068,459 shares, which cut the company's USD Cash balance by roughly 46% to $242.4 million. Strategy maintains a $4.83 billion USD Reserve and roughly $956.8 million of remaining room under its $3 billion preferred buyback cap. The pause came ahead of a Federal Reserve rate decision and also as the company faces potential exclusion from MSCI indexes. MSTR shares fell approximately 2% in response.

Crypto-linked equities broadly declined during the session, with Riot Platforms, Strategy, and MARA each dropping around 4% as Bitcoin hovered near $80,000. Separately, Vanguard, with $13.3 trillion in assets under management, purchased $7.5 million worth of shares in Metaplanet, signaling continued institutional interest in corporate Bitcoin treasury vehicles.