According to Cointelegraph, shares of Asset Entities (ASST) surged by 52% in after-hours trading on Tuesday following the approval of a merger with Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Enterprises. The merger aims to establish a Bitcoin treasury company, with plans to raise $1.5 billion for Bitcoin purchases. The newly formed entity will be named Strive, Inc. and will continue trading under the ticker ASST. Asset Entities' shares closed at $6.28, marking a 17.8% increase, and further climbed to $9.55 after the merger announcement.
Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Enterprises’ subsidiary Strive Asset Management, will lead the combined company. Meanwhile, Asset Entities CEO and President Arshia Sarkhani will assume the role of chief marketing officer and board member. The specific role of Ramaswamy, Strive’s co-founder, in the new company remains unclear. This merger adds to the growing list of 186 public companies reporting significant Bitcoin acquisitions, a number that has increased from less than 100 earlier this year, raising concerns about market saturation.
Strive Enterprises has opted for a reverse-merger structure, considered more stable than the faster-paced Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), as it involves less speculative capital raising and uncertain timelines. The company plans to fund its $1.5 billion Bitcoin acquisition with $750 million from a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) and an additional $750 million potentially from the exercise of warrants issued in the PIPE. This funding would enable the purchase of approximately 13,450 Bitcoin at current market prices, positioning the company among the top 10 largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The merger's completion is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of Strive’s listing application by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
Initially announced in May, the merger included plans to acquire 75,000 Bitcoin from claims related to the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox, aiming to purchase the cryptocurrency at a discount. This strategy could enhance Strive's Bitcoin-per-share ratio, a metric gaining traction in the Bitcoin treasury sector. However, a successful shareholder vote is necessary to pursue the Mt. Gox claims. Since its inception in 2022 by Anson Frericks and Ramaswamy, Strive has amassed $2 billion in assets. Asset Entities, primarily a social media marketing firm, had no prior involvement in Bitcoin or the crypto industry before this merger.
The trend of corporate Bitcoin adoption has reached a milestone, with public companies collectively holding 1 million Bitcoin, representing 5.1% of the circulating supply. Michael Saylor’s Strategy leads the Bitcoin accumulation with 638,460 BTC valued at $71.2 billion, followed by MARA Holdings and XXI with 52,477 BTC and 43,514 BTC, respectively.
