Strive Could Become No. 2 Bitcoin Treasury by Year-End

Highlights

Strive CEO Matt Cole says the firm could end 2026 as the world's second-largest public Bitcoin holder.
Strive added 3,156 BTC in August alone, lifting its total to 23,156 BTC worth nearly $1.9 billion.
The path to No. 2 hinges on more than $700 million in outstanding Strive (ASST) warrants that expire in mid-October.
Twenty One Capital currently holds the No. 2 spot with 43,514 BTC, roughly double Strive's current stack.

Strive, the Bitcoin treasury company built around ticker ASST, has laid out a path to becoming the second-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin by the end of 2026, according to comments from CEO Matt Cole reported by The Block. The claim follows a month in which Strive added 3,156 BTC to its balance sheet, pushing its total holdings to 23,156 BTC worth close to $1.9 billion at current prices. That growth has already moved the company past crypto exchange Bullish to claim the fifth-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury position.

The gap to second place remains substantial. Twenty One Capital currently holds that spot with 43,514 BTC, a stack nearly double the size of Strive's current holdings. Cole's own math shows the scale of what closing that gap would require organically: with roughly 17 weeks left in the year, Strive would need to purchase approximately 1,200 BTC every single week for the remainder of 2026 to catch Twenty One Capital, assuming its rival makes no further purchases of its own — an assumption Cole was careful not to treat as likely.

The Warrant Mechanism Behind the Bet

Rather than relying purely on sustained organic accumulation, Cole pointed to a specific financial trigger: more than $700 million in outstanding Strive warrants that are set to expire in mid-October. Warrants of this kind give holders the right, but not the obligation, to buy company shares at a fixed strike price before expiration. If Strive's stock trades above the $27 exercise price as that deadline approaches, warrant holders would have a strong financial incentive to convert, delivering the company a lump sum of fresh capital that could be redirected almost entirely into additional Bitcoin purchases. Cole explicitly framed a second-place finish as contingent on that scenario playing out rather than as his base case, acknowledging that several factors beyond the company's direct control would need to align.

Part of a Broader Corporate Bitcoin Race

Strive's push reflects the intensifying competition among publicly listed Bitcoin treasury vehicles that has defined 2026, a field crowded with companies racing to stack coins and climb a closely watched holdings leaderboard, not unlike the accumulation strategy that helped Japan's Remixpoint go all-in on Bitcoin after exiting its altcoin positions entirely. Unlike firms relying purely on debt or equity raises to fund purchases, Strive's warrant-driven path ties its buying capacity to its own share-price performance, creating a feedback loop where a rising ASST stock price directly funds the company's next leg of Bitcoin accumulation. That structure carries obvious risk in the other direction too: if shares stay below the $27 strike through October, the warrants would likely expire unconverted, and Strive's path to overtaking Twenty One Capital this year would depend entirely on slower, organic weekly purchases — the same grind-it-out approach behind smaller treasury moves like Cardone Capital's recent allocation of 900 BTC tied to a real-estate deal.

What to Watch Next

The mid-October warrant expiration is the clearest near-term catalyst to track, since Strive's share price relative to the $27 strike will determine whether the company gains a large one-time capital injection or is left to close the gap purchase by purchase. Beyond that date, weekly disclosure of Strive's Bitcoin holdings will show whether the firm is pacing anywhere near the roughly 1,200 BTC per week required to catch Twenty One Capital organically, and whether Twenty One Capital itself continues adding to its own stack in response.

FAQ

How much Bitcoin does Strive currently hold?
Strive holds 23,156 BTC worth nearly $1.9 billion, after adding 3,156 BTC in August alone.

What would it take for Strive to become the No. 2 Bitcoin holder?
Twenty One Capital currently holds 43,514 BTC. Strive would need either roughly 1,200 BTC in weekly purchases for the rest of the year or a large capital injection from warrant conversions.

What are the Strive warrants CEO Matt Cole mentioned?
More than $700 million in outstanding ASST warrants expiring in mid-October, which would convert into fresh capital for Bitcoin purchases if shares trade above the $27 strike price.

Is becoming the No. 2 Bitcoin holder Strive's base-case expectation?
No. Cole described it as a possible outcome contingent on several factors, including the warrant conversion, rather than the company's default expectation.