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Strive (ASST) Buys 1,109 Bitcoin, Holdings Reach 16,500 BTC

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Strive (ASST) Buys 1,109 Bitcoin, Holdings Reach 16,500 BTC

Strive (ASST) added 1,109 bitcoin to its balance sheet last week, lifting total holdings to 16,500 BTC and placing the firm among the largest public corporate holders of the asset, according to a May 26 filing.

The purchases took place between May 19 and May 22 at an average price of $76,989 per coin, bringing Strive to seventh place among listed companies with bitcoin treasuries. The move continues a strategy that ties equity growth to direct exposure to bitcoin.

The company reported cash and cash equivalents of $93.3 million, up from $87.3 million. It also disclosed a rise in the value of its holdings of Strategy Inc.’s STRC preferred stock, which now exceed $50 million.

Strive said it is assessing a refresh of its at-the-market programs tied to both Class A common stock and SATA preferred stock. The update would give the firm added flexibility to issue shares and fund further bitcoin purchases.

Shares outstanding increased across both classes during the period, reflecting capital activity tied to its treasury approach.

ASST stock has gained 133% over the past three months, outpacing peers in the bitcoin treasury sector. The shares remain far below their 2025 peak.

Strive’s SATA daily dividend 

Earlier this year, Strive Asset Management moved to reshape income investing with the planned launch of its SATA preferred stock, introducing the first U.S.-listed security designed to pay cash dividends every business day. 

Scheduled to begin daily distributions on June 16, the structure keeps its stated 13% annual rate but effectively lifts yield to about 13.88% through frequent compounding across roughly 250 trading days.

The product is aimed at investors seeking consistent cash flow, offering daily payouts instead of the traditional monthly cycle. This higher-frequency model improves reinvestment efficiency and liquidity, positioning SATA as a potential alternative to money market funds and other short-duration income vehicles.

At the same time, Strive has overhauled its balance sheet, eliminating all outstanding debt and removing leverage, margin exposure, and encumbered bitcoin. 

Earlier today, popular bitcoin hoarder Strategy repurchased $1.5 billion of its convertible debt at an 8% discount, cutting liabilities while signaling a more active, flexible approach to managing its balance sheet.

UK Targets Kremlin-Linked Crypto Network In Latest Sanctions Round

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UK Targets Kremlin-Linked Crypto Network In Latest Sanctions Round

The United Kingdom has unveiled a fresh package of sanctions against Russian financial structures that use crypto and offshore payment routes to sidestep restrictions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. 

The measures focus on the Kremlin-backed A7 network, a ruble-based settlement system, and a cluster of exchanges and firms that route payments through Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

Announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the package covers 18 new designations that target what London describes as the backbone of Russia’s illicit finance channels. 

Officials say the list includes a Kyrgyz bank suspected of handling A7 flows, a major global cryptocurrency exchange that has sent more than 1.5 billion dollars to entities close to the Kremlin, and three Georgian companies that run Russia-focused trading platforms.

The A7 network has emerged as a central hub in Russia’s attempts to blunt the impact of Western sanctions on its war economy. Investigations by independent researchers describe A7 as a cross-border settlement platform that uses a ruble-backed token, branded A7A5, and links to Promsvyazbank, a state lender that supports the Russian defense sector.

According to the UK government, A7 claims to have moved more than 90 billion dollars during the past year, a sum that officials say approaches half of Russia’s annual military spending. 

Separate journalistic probes have found that A7-connected wallets and entities handle a significant share of cross-border transfers for sanctioned oligarchs and state-linked businesses.

The crackdown lands at a moment when Russia’s own forecasts show a weaker outlook for growth under sanctions pressure. This month the Economy Ministry cut its 2026 growth projection to 0.4 percent from 1.3 percent and reduced the estimate for 2027 from 2.8 percent to 1.4 percent, an admission that extended war spending and trade limits weigh on expansion.

Crypto is replacing bank links for Russia

Western authorities and crypto analytics firms have flagged crypto as a key tool in Russia’s effort to replace severed bank links. Research into related platforms such as A7A5 and exchanges that serve Russian users has traced billions of dollars in stablecoin and token flows that bypass traditional banking checks, much of it through venues in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Cooper framed the new sanctions as part of a broader drive to hit the financial lifelines of Moscow’s war machine and close off safe havens for enablers of the invasion. She said the UK would keep working with allies to expose, disrupt and dismantle the structures that move money and goods for Russian forces.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Britain has sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals, companies and vessels linked to the Kremlin, from banks and energy giants to defense suppliers. The government estimates that international sanctions have stripped more than 450 billion dollars from Russia’s economy, a loss equal to an estimated two years of funding for its war against Ukraine.

Self-Custodial Bitcoin Payments Now Show Verified Merchant Details

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Self-Custodial Bitcoin Payments Now Show Verified Merchant Details

Branta, a Bitcoin security company, recently announced integration with Manna Wallet, a self-custodial payments app. Users will now see the logos and company details of merchants they make payments to on Manna before they make a payment, letting them make the purchases with confidence. “Bitcoin payments give users anxiety. Every single time,” said Adam Simecka, CEO of Manna in the announcement, a key fact that to him, explains why Bitcoin adoption is lagging.

“Manna now automatically ensures your payments are going to who they say they are with Branta. When you pay a Branta integrated business, you will see their details and a link to verify yourself. Don’t trust. Verify.” Simecka, announcing the integration. Branta’s software is open source and privacy-centric, using zero-knowledge proofs to avoid knowing anything about the payment addresses or invoices involved, while guaranteeing the connection between client and merchant is authentic. “We went way out of our way to make sure the process met high standards of privacy.”  Keith Gardner, co-founder of Branta told Bitcoin Magazine. 

Demo The Technology

Branta’s Guardrails service was designed to eliminate risks like human error or man-in-the-middle attacks between users and merchants in Bitcoin. Such attacks of this sort have become very popular in other blockchains, such as Ethereum, called “poisoned address”, created to mimic recipients that a client makes regular payments to.

Users in this example might be tempted to grab the recipient address from their blockchain history, which attackers have dusted with the poisoned address, tricking the user. While poison address attacks are more difficult in Bitcoin, other ways to trick users exist. Human error is also a possibility that experienced Bitcoin users know well, sometimes joking about it online. 

Branta Guardrails works as a “side channel” to authenticate the connection between sender and recipient. Merchants can join the growing network of Branta merchants and platforms, and integrate their technology via a wide range of Bitcoin invoicing software already supported, such as a BTCpay server plugin and Zaprite’s suite of merchant tools.  

A live demo can be tested with some of the wallets like Manna and Arkade. Scanning supported QR codes brings up the merchant logo on the user wallet and clickable link to verify recipient details. Phil Geiger, advisor to Branta, showcasing that demo, X.com saying it “Makes me feel much more confident before sending an immutable bitcoin payment!” 

According to Gardner, merchants love the idea of having their logo show up on client wallets, and it makes sense. Company logos accumulate massive amounts of capital and goodwill deployed by companies; they represent the company’s purpose and history, and establish a bond with their customers. Making sure users feel comfortable and confident in their purchases is thus essential to business operations, and the merchant logo fulfills that purpose, in a similar way to the green lock browser icon that brought HTTPS to the mainstream in the early 2000’s. 

Bitcoin (BTC) drops to 13th largest asset as capital flees to AI and precious metals

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Bitcoin (BTC) drops to 13th largest asset as capital flees to AI and precious metals

Bitcoin BTC$75,823.88 has fallen to 13th place among the world’s largest global assets after slipping to roughly $76,000, bringing its total market capitalization down to $1.5 trillion.

BTC has struggled throughout 2026, falling 11% year to date and nearly 30% over the past 12 months, as investor capital has rotated into other high performing sectors.

Precious metals were among the biggest beneficiaries during that period. Gold surged to a record $5,600 per ounce in January before easing back to around $4,486, while silver climbed as high as $120 per ounce and now trades near $76.

The rally in metals pushed silver to become the world’s fifth largest asset by market capitalization, highlighting strong demand for traditional safe haven assets amid continued economic uncertainty.

The ongoing boom in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks has significantly outpaced bitcoin’s performance. The so-called “Magnificent Seven” technology companies have continued to rally, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF gaining 33% over the past year.

Semiconductor leaders such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Broadcom (AVGO) have both surpassed bitcoin in market capitalization, each now valued at around $2 trillion, ranking eighth and ninth globally.

Micron Technology (MU) recently became the latest semiconductor company to cross the $1 trillion valuation threshold, while Samsung, valued near $1.3 trillion, now sits just behind bitcoin.

Strive’s SATA Briefly Swallows The Entire Bitcoin Mining Daily Supply As BTC Purchases Ramp Up

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Strive’s SATA Briefly Swallows The Entire Bitcoin Mining Daily Supply As BTC Purchases Ramp Up

Strive, Inc. (ASST) crossed a threshold on Tuesday that few bitcoin treasury watchers expected to see this soon: its preferred stock instrument, SATA, absorbed an estimated 453 BTC — roughly 101% of the entire bitcoin mining supply for a single day — in what marks the first full-supply absorption event since May 14.

The milestone landed on what STRC.live tracking data described as the biggest volume day in SATA’s history, with approximately 384,000 shares traded through Strive’s at-the-market program. 

The single-day total of roughly 408 BTC eclipsed the prior single-day record of approximately 404 BTC set just last Friday, with Tuesday’s afternoon session still running when the record fell. 

The additional 3 BTC above the daily mining total came from secondary market sellers selling into open demand.

Bitcoin’s fourth halving, completed in April 2024, cut the block subsidy to 3.125 BTC. At approximately 144 blocks per day, global miners now produce roughly 450 BTC in fresh supply every 24 hours. 

Strive’s SATA is churning distributions 

Strive’s SATA preferred stock — which carries a 13% annual dividend rate and will begin paying cash distributions every business day starting June 16, a Wall Street first — has turned that fixed supply figure into a daily target.

The mechanism is straightforward. When SATA trades at or above its $100 par value, Strive issues new preferred shares via its ATM program and converts the proceeds directly into bitcoin. The firm has publicly committed to not issuing SATA below $100 par, concentrating buying pressure into windows when demand pushes the stock above that threshold. 

On Tuesday, demand did exactly that, and the ATM engine ran at full throttle.

Just weeks ago, SATA was still regarded as a secondary experiment in the bitcoin preferred-equity space, operating in the shadow of Strategy’s dominant STRC instrument. That framing has aged poorly.

In the week ending May 24, SATA acquired an estimated 794 BTC — more than double its prior weekly record of 371 BTC set at the start of May, and a figure that, relative to Strive’s treasury, represents a 5.16% week-on-week increase. 

Strategy, by comparison, added approximately 24,869 BTC in the same week, but against its 818,869 BTC base, that translates to a 3.04% proportional gain.

For Strategy to match Strive’s percentage-growth pace last week, it would have needed to purchase roughly 42,250 BTC in seven days — approximately 17,400 BTC more than it actually bought. Strategy remains the unchallenged leader in absolute holdings because of the bulk of their holdings, now at an estimated 843,738 BTC.

JPMorgan projects the firm could deploy roughly $30 billion in bitcoin acquisitions across all of 2026. But on the metric Strive has chosen to compete on — bitcoin per share, not bitcoin in total — the gap is narrowing in a way that is difficult to ignore.

Michael Saylor, Strategy’s executive chairman and the architect of the corporate bitcoin treasury model, publicly endorsed SATA last week, calling it “the most interesting story in Bitcoin right now” and singling out the rise of SATA in the credit markets and ASST in the equity markets as a development worth watching. 

Bitcoin’s (BTC) run against gold is breaking. What next?

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) run against gold is breaking. What next?

Bitcoin’s three-month uptrend against gold seems to have ended, as ETF flows shift toward gold and other precious metals.

That’s evident from the bitcoin-to-gold ratio, which measures the per-coin dollar price of BTC against the per-ounce dollar price of gold. This is the chart that tells you which “store of value” investors actually prefer at any given moment.

Since early March, bitcoin has been the clear winner, lifting the ratio higher from roughly 12 points to 18 points.

But not anymore.

The growth has stalled lately, and, over the past 24 hours, it has decisively turned lower, snapping the three-month uptrend.

The BTC/gold ratio has penetrated the three-month bullish trendline. (CoinDesk)

The ratio has penetrated the uptrend line, characterizing BTC’s mini-bull run against gold. In the world of technical analysis, this is a major breakdown, signaling a renewed shift in momentum in favour of gold.

Why this matters

The signal is not just about lines on the chart, but tells us where the smart money may be headed next.

When the Iran war began in late February, and oil prices shot up to over $100 per barrel, investors looked for a place to park cash. And for a while, they bet on bitcoin as a haven, as evidenced by the upswing in the BTC-gold ratio.

But the same ratio has now invalidated its uptrend, pointing to renewed investor rotation into gold.

Note that chart patterns like trendline breakdowns can and often are fleeting, but for now, the message is clear: gold could outperform BTC in the near-term.

Market flows support that interpretation.

Precious metal ETFs in demand

Exchange-traded funds tied to bitcoin have fallen out of investor favor, losing over $2 billion in two weeks amid a hardening of Treasury yields and the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates in the U.S.

Meanwhile, gold and precious metal funds are in demand. These funds drew $2.34 billion in investor money during the week ended May 20, extending their inflow streak to a second consecutive week, Reuters reported, citing LSEG Lipper data.

As of writing, bitcoin changed hands near $75,600, down 0.3% from midnight UTC hours and gold traded largely flat around $4,500.

Ethereum Bull David Hoffman Shares Why He Sold His ETH

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Ethereum Bull David Hoffman Shares Why He Sold His ETH

David Hoffman, an Ethereum advocate and the co-founder of the media company Bankless, says he sold the remainder of his Ether (ETH) holdings last week as he believes the “ETH is Money” thesis has largely “played out.”

Hoffman said in an X post on Tuesday that “Ethereum got the ETH price it deserves, and I don’t see ETH being rerated as an asset, higher or lower.”

Hoffman said that Ethereum “has done incredibly well, and deserves the market cap that it has,” but the “window of opportunity for ETH to be ‘rerated’ by the market seems to be closing.”

“ETH is, to some degree, money. But not the maximally successful version that we collectively sought out to achieve.”

The “ETH is Money” thesis believes the token is a superior store of value compared to fiat money, as it is decentralized and has introduced mechanisms to try to combat inflation, or the amount of new tokens being created.

Many Ether backers believed the token could reach the high five-figures, but ETH reached an all-time high of just below $5,000 in August, about equal to its previous bull market peak during the last cycle. It has since dropped by almost 60% from its all-time peak to trade around $2,000.

ETH prices have been largely rangebound for five years. Source: TradingView

Hoffman, a long-time Ethereum bull who has written extensively on investment cases for Ether, announced selling his entire ETH holdings, the value of which he did not disclose, on May 21.

He said that Ethereum is a “giver, not a taker,” providing secure blockspace and tokenization at cost while the blockchain’s layer-2 networks capture most of the fees and benefit.

“Ethereum takes no markup for anything it does. This is the nature of open source software, and this is the power of Ethereum. Ethereum supplies its full set of incredibly important values to the world… at cost.”

Hoffman reiterated that he is “massively bullish” on Ethereum, expecting that the network will do “exceptionally well from here on out,” but only a “marginal amount” of that success will be reflected in its token.

Related: Tom Lee predicts supercycle amid Bitmine’s largest Ethereum buy in 2026

Hoffman’s sale saw mixed reactions from ETH backers, with Bankless co-founder Ryan Sean Adams saying it was the “end of an era.” 

Former Ethereum core developer Eric Connor said he didn’t really blame Hoffman because ETH has “grossly underperformed the general crypto market for many years now.”

He attributed the lag mainly to selling pressure from the large number of millionaires created during its explosive early run-up rather than fundamental protocol shortcomings.

“At the end of the day, maximalism to a single coin when it comes to portfolio management is pretty silly,” he said. 

Magazine: Polymarket seeks Japan entry, Harvard dumps entire ETH position: Hodler’s Digest

Crypto PACs spend $9 million in Texas and score wins in both parties

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Crypto PACs spend $9 million in Texas and score wins in both parties

Crypto-focused political committees are flexing their growing bipartisan political muscle in Texas, spending more than $9 million on races this cycle as Tuesday’s primaries deliver a string of wins for industry-backed candidates across both parties.

Houston Democrat Christian Menefee defeated fellow Democrat Rep. Al Green in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’s 18th Congressional District, after Republican-led redistricting dismantled Green’s longtime seat and forced the House Financial Services Committee member into a rare incumbent-on-incumbent showdown.

Green had earned an “F” from crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto after opposing key industry-backed legislation and warning that cryptocurrency could erode U.S. financial leverage abroad.

“Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences,” Geoff Vetter, a Fairshake spokesperson, told CoinDesk. “Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”

In the Republican Senate primary, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton toppled longtime Sen. John Cornyn. In other races, Fairshake’s Republican affiliate, Defend American Jobs, and its Democratic counterpart, Protect Progress, backed candidates on opposite sides of the aisle, while the separate crypto-focused Fellowship PAC supported Paxton to the tune of $500,000.

Elsewhere in Texas, Defend American Jobs spent roughly $1.8 million backing four winning Republican candidates: Jon Bonck ($348,433), Tom Sell ($426,279), Carlos De La Cruz ($581,172) and Alex Mealer ($436,278). All four were low-turnout runoffs where the eventual nominee is typically heavily favored in November, making them efficient targets for a well-capitalized political network.

Texas had only one night of primaries, but Tuesday’s results suggest the crypto industry is already positioning aggressively with a well-capitalized war chest for the 2026 midterms, when Democrats are favored — by a slim margin — to sweep both the House and Senate.

Smarter Web Company Adds 10 Bitcoin, Lifts Holdings To 2,869 BTC Amid Treasury Push

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Smarter Web Company Adds 10 Bitcoin, Lifts Holdings To 2,869 BTC Amid Treasury Push

London-listed The Smarter Web Company (LSE: SWC) disclosed on May 26 that it acquired 10 Bitcoin at an average price of £55,786 per coin, equivalent to roughly $74,904. The purchase totaled £557,865 and brings the company’s aggregate Bitcoin holdings to 2,869 BTC.

The firm’s cumulative investment in Bitcoin now stands at £232.48 million, with an average acquisition cost of £81,032 ($109,000) per BTC, highlighting that the latest purchase was executed well below its overall cost basis. 

The company has leaned into Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, positioning it as a core component of its capital allocation framework.

Management said the company has achieved a quarter-to-date Bitcoin yield of 15.43%, a metric it uses to measure the change in Bitcoin holdings relative to its fully diluted share count. The KPI reflects the company’s emphasis on accretive BTC accumulation rather than short-term price movements.

The latest acquisition follows continued use of a credit facility arranged with Coinbase, under which the company has drawn £18 million to date. This represents an approximate leverage ratio of 12.19%, underscoring the firm’s willingness to use debt financing to scale its Bitcoin exposure.

The Coinbase facility is secured against the company’s existing BTC holdings and carries a variable interest rate ranging from 6.75% to 7.25%. Notably, the loan can be repaid at the company’s discretion without penalty, providing flexibility in managing leverage depending on market conditions.

Bitcoin as a treasury asset

The Smarter Web Company, which provides web design, development, and online marketing services, began accepting BTC payments in 2022 and has since integrated the asset into its broader corporate strategy. Alongside organic growth, the company is also pursuing acquisitions aimed at expanding its client base and recurring revenue streams.

The move places The Smarter Web Company among a growing cohort of publicly traded firms adopting BTC-centric treasury models, echoing strategies pioneered by companies such as Strive and Strategy. 

Just today, Strive’s SATA preferred stock absorbed roughly 453 bitcoin — exceeding the entire daily mining supply — marking a record-setting surge in demand that underscores its rapid rise as a major BTC accumulation vehicle and a growing challenger to Strategy’s dominance in treasury growth.

Over the last two weeks, Strategy (MSTR) shifted focus from buying bitcoin to repurchasing $1.5 billion of its convertible debt at an 8% discount, reducing liabilities while conserving capital. At the same time, the company continued growing its BTC position through equity issuance, bringing total holdings to 843,738 BTC as it actively rebalanced its balance sheet.

Trump Defends CFTC Jurisdiction Over Prediction Markets

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Trump Defends CFTC Jurisdiction Over Prediction Markets

US President Donald Trump has backed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as having the “exclusive authority” over prediction markets, as state regulators’ action against the platforms mounts.

“It is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive,” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.

Trump also took aim at several officials whose states have launched legal action against prediction markets, including Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com and Robinhood.

“Under my leadership, we are setting ‘rules of the road’ that are the Gold Standard for the States,” Trump wrote. “We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules!”

Source: Donald Trump

Multiple state authorities have argued that prediction markets are violating state laws by offering gambling without a license, and have sued or issued cease-and-desist orders to multiple platforms.

Prediction markets such as Kalshi have sued various state authorities to fend off legal action, claiming it is regulated solely by the CFTC.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig has also opposed the states, arguing his agency has “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets as federally regulated designated contract markets.

The agency has sued several states, including Minnesota, Illinois, New York and Arizona for taking action against prediction markets.

Trump said in his post that “other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top.”

“It is a major Industry, and we must protect it,” he added.

Last month, Trump told reporters he was “not happy” with prediction markets and was “never much in favor” of them in response to a question about well-timed bets on the platforms on events linked to the Iran war, which has drawn the ire of several Democrats who have called for stricter measures.

Related: Hyperliquid launches prediction markets for real-world events 

Trump, whose son Donald Trump Jr. is invested in and on the advisory board for Polymarket and is also an adviser to Kalshi, softened his stance on prediction markets days later, saying the US would “get left out in the cold” if it didn’t allow the platforms.

In March, the CFTC established an advisory team to oversee the listing and trading of event contracts and to ensure that market participants satisfy anti-manipulation, surveillance and market integrity requirements.

It claimed that prediction markets fall within the CFTC’s existing derivatives framework under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

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