Strive Clears $110M Debt, Buys More Bitcoin After Oversubscribed $225M Raise

When a company raises $225 million, what's the first thing it does? Pay off debt. What's the second? Buy more bitcoin.

Strive (ASST), the bitcoin treasury company, just pulled off both moves after an oversubscribed preferred stock offering that was upsized from an initial $150 million target. With orders exceeding $600 million, the SATA preferred offering was 2.7 times oversubscribed.

Cleaning House First

Strive's priority wasn't flashy expansion—it was financial housekeeping. The company immediately tackled $110 million of the $120 million legacy debt inherited from its recent acquisition of Semler Scientific (SMLR).

The debt retirement included $90 million of convertible notes exchanged into SATA stock and full repayment of a $20 millionCoinbase credit facility. The result? 100% of Strive's bitcoin holdings are now unencumbered—no collateral, no margin calls, no forced liquidation risks.

The remaining $10 million debt will be retired by April 2026, ahead of the original 12-month timeline.

Bitcoin Shopping Spree

With the balance sheet cleaned up, Strive went shopping. The company acquired 333.89 bitcoin at an average price of $89,851, bringing total holdings to 13,131 BTC—worth over $1.1 billion at current prices. That makes Strive the tenth-largest public corporate bitcoin holder globally.

Yet despite this apparent good news, ASST shares dropped 1.5% to $0.81 in early trading. The market's lukewarm response raises questions about whether investors expected something more ambitious.

The Zero-Leverage Gamble

Strive's approach stands in stark contrast to the leverage-heavy strategies of peers like MicroStrategy. While others borrow aggressively to amplify their bitcoin exposure, Strive is betting on the power of unencumbered holdings.

This conservative approach offers downside protection—no risk of forced selling during bitcoin crashes. But it also caps upside potential compared to leveraged players who can multiply their gains in bull markets.

The question is whether institutional investors prefer the stability of debt-free bitcoin exposure or the explosive growth potential of leveraged strategies.

Market Timing Questions

Strive's timing is intriguing. The company is building its bitcoin position while the cryptocurrency trades around $89,100—well below its $108,000 all-time high from December. Is this opportunistic buying at a discount, or are they catching a falling knife?

The oversubscribed offering suggests investor appetite remains strong for bitcoin treasury plays, even after the initial euphoria has cooled.