Strive Buys 15,124 Bitcoin As New Preferred Shares Carry 15% Annual Dividend

Strive bought 15,124 Bitcoin (BTC) in October, taking its treasury to 43,124 BTC on 30th October, according to its third-quarter results and quarterly filing released on 6th November. The expansion came alongside a new preferred share issue carrying a 15% annual dividend rate.

The company reported an average October purchase price of about $83,310 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses. That puts the purchases at approximately $1.26 billion, by our calculation. Strive had held about 28,000 BTC at the end of September.

What the preferred issue pays

Strive's seven million SATS preferred shares raised about $609 million after underwriting discounts and commissions, the filing says. Nasdaq's own security-status record lists SATS among anticipated security additions for 20th October.

Under the issue terms, dividends accumulate at 15% a year on a stated $100 per share. They are payable in cash when declared by the board. Cumulative means unpaid dividends continue to build up, rather than disappearing when a payment is missed.

On the 7,003,418 SATS shares outstanding on 30th October, the stated rate amounts to about $105 million annually, calculated from Strive's share count and terms. This is an annualised amount, not a declaration of a full year's payments.

The board has declared an initial $0.8710 per share for 9th November and $0.0658 for each business day from 10th to 30th November. A frequent payment schedule does not itself raise the annual rate, a distinction also relevant to Strategy's separate dividend timetable.

The reserve has limits

Strive deposited $22.50 per initially issued SATS share into its existing dividend reserve, using cash and securities already held. That is $157.5 million across seven million shares, equivalent to 18 months of dividends at the stated rate.

The quarterly filing also says the reserve is not contractually restricted to dividend payments. Preferred holders have no lien or contractual claim over those funds, and creditors could claim them in an insolvency. The reserve therefore does not give holders a protected pot of money separate from the company's other obligations.

Strive reported $490.4 million in cash and cash equivalents on 30th October. Its older SATA preferred shares carried a 13% annual rate, which the company can adjust. Across the reported SATA and SATS share counts, the two rates imply about $287 million in annual dividends, by our calculation, if maintained and declared.

The SEC staff's explanation of digital asset treasury companies identifies the additional layer of risk in buying corporate exposure: shareholders own an interest in the company rather than its crypto, and the shares can move independently of the asset's price.

Strive's $509 million third-quarter net income included a $533.7 million unrealised gain on digital assets. An unrealised gain records a change in value; it does not supply cash through a sale to meet the preferred dividends.