Strive buys 6,182 more bitcoin, adding 15,538 BTC in four weeks

Nasdaq-listed Strive bought 6,182 bitcoin between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23, the company said in a Form 8-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 26 (US time). The average price was about $82,732 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses, for a total of roughly $511.45 million. The purchase took its holdings from 36,818 BTC to 43,000 BTC.

Four straight weeks of bigger buys

Strive has disclosed its bitcoin purchases every week. Its weekly buying rose for four consecutive weeks, from 1,107 BTC in the fourth week of September to 2,000, 3,311 and 4,045 BTC, and now 6,182 BTC. Holdings have grown by 15,538 BTC in four weeks from 27,462 BTC on Sept. 25. Of the 4,045 BTC bought from Oct. 12 to Oct. 16, the 2,822 BTC purchased on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 were announced separately on Oct. 14.

All average prices are company figures inclusive of fees and expenses. Besides bitcoin, Strive holds 505,000 shares of Strategy's Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), valued at $50.18 million as of Oct. 23. During the purchase period from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23, bitcoin traded between $80,513 and $84,898 on Binance daily candles (UTC).

Strive raised $630 million through a 15% preferred stock

On Oct. 20, in the middle of the purchase period, Strive listed its new SATS preferred stock on Nasdaq. The company said in a press release that day that it had closed an upsized initial public offering of 7 million SATS shares at $90 per share, which works out to $630 million before fees. SATS is a perpetual preferred stock carrying a cumulative annual dividend rate of 15% on its $100 stated amount, payable each business day when declared by the board. The first regular dividend date is Nov. 9. On Oct. 21, the board declared an initial dividend of $0.8710 per share payable on Nov. 9 to holders of record on Nov. 6, followed by daily dividends of $0.0658 per share on each business day from Nov. 10 to Nov. 30. Both amounts reflect the 15% annual rate.

"We don't have any debt, or maturities, and we're focused on a single obligation, the dividend."

Jeff Walton, Chief Risk Officer, Strive

Walton said in the same release that the company has no debt or maturities and is focused on a single obligation, the preferred dividend.

The filing's table shows cash and cash equivalents rose by $186.9 million, from $317.5 million to $504.4 million, between Oct. 16 and Oct. 23. Class A common shares outstanding increased by 3,266,034 to 118,113,644 over the same period.

A $1 billion window for more sales

Strive said in a separate 8-K that on Oct. 26 it entered into a sales agreement with seven firms, including Cantor Fitzgerald, Barclays and Clear Street, to sell SATS shares at market prices over time in an at-the-market (ATM) offering. The program allows sales of up to $1 billion in total. The company said it may use the proceeds to buy bitcoin and bitcoin-related products, for working capital, to repurchase Class A common stock or SATA preferred stock, and to pay preferred dividends, among other uses.

Strategy sat out the same week

Strategy, the listed company with the most bitcoin, said in a filing the same day that it neither bought nor sold any bitcoin from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. Instead, it used $204.9 million of USD Cash to repurchase 2,068,459 shares of its STRC preferred stock. As of Oct. 25, it held about 848,517 BTC at an average purchase price of $75,446.

Bitcoin traded at $79,860 on Binance at 12:33 p.m. KST on Oct. 29, about $2,870, or 3.5%, below Strive's average price this week. At the same time, it was 107.097 million won on Upbit's Korean won market, down 1.7% from the previous day's close, and the kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) was around 0.1%.