Strive overtakes Bullish after 1,800 BTC acquisition week

Strive (NASDAQ: ASST) has now jumped to the fifth spot among publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holders, leapfrogging Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) after a 1,800 token accumulation week pushed the firm’s stack to 23,156 BTC worth roughly $1.8 billion as of August 31.

The Dallas-based asset manager overtook Bullish as it continues to build up its Bitcoin stash, while the latter is on its way down.

Before the latest update to its balance sheet, Strive entered the final week of August with 21,356 BTC, per its August 24 filing with the SEC. At the time, Bullish held 22,000 BTC, with its 1,700 token sale at the end of June as its most recent transaction.

Both companies still rank behind MARA Holdings at 35,577 BTC and far behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which now holds 845,050 BTC after its first token purchase since June.

How did Strive fund its Bitcoin buying?

Strive has been steadily tapping equity issuance of common stock (ASST) and preferred stock (SATA) to power its Bitcoin accumulation strategy. SATA powers most of the firm’s buying activity when it trades near its $100 par value.

The variable-rate perpetual preferred pays a 13% annualized dividend every business day, a design that CEO Matt Cole touted as a first for a US-listed security.

Last week’s 1,800 BTC acquisition follows an $81.5 million splurge on 1,110 BTC per the firm’s 8-K for the August 17 to 21 period, as Cryptopolitan reported.

The company’s cash rose to $171.9 million following a $17.1 million gain on the at-the-market sales of its common and preferred stock over the same period.

Strive entered the corporate Bitcoin leaderboard through a September 2025 merger with Asset Entities. It expanded with an all-stock deal for Semler Scientific in January 2026.

Bullish, on the other hand, is a digital-asset exchange operator led by the former president of the New York Stock Exchange, Tom Farley. It became a publicly traded Bitcoin treasury firm after it raised $1.1 billion in its August 2025 IPO.

Strive stays hot after difficult quarter 

Strive maintained its Bitcoin buying despite taking a $257.6 million net loss for the quarter ended June 30, disclosed on August 10. It related 94% of that drawdown to Bitcoin’s price struggles during that period and its stake in Strategy’s preferred shares.

Ironically, the medical device sales business it took over with its Semler deal posted close to a 100% year-on-year revenue growth to $2.94 million.

Cole has framed the balance sheet as built for this kind of volatility, telling investors the company stands debt-free with no margin requirements and no encumbered Bitcoin.

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