Strive Buys BTC, Pays Off Debt from Semler Scientific Deal

Bitcoin treasury company Strive said it has retired 92% of the debt it inherited after acquiring Semler Scientific earlier this month, and bought another 334 Bitcoin, following the closure of a preferred stock offering.

Strive said on Wednesday that it saw $600 million in demand for its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, trading under “SATA,” and had upsized its target raise from $150 million to $225 million in response. 

The stock offering is a form of long-duration equity financing designed to fund Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation without increasing leverage. 

The Vivek Ramaswamy-backed Strive finalized its acquisition of former Bitcoin treasury company Semler Scientific on Jan. 13 after agreeing to a merger in September.

Earlier this month, Strive said it would use the capital raised from the stock offering, along with existing cash and potential proceeds from unwinding hedging transactions, to pay down liabilities, with the remainder of the funds used to acquire Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related products. 

The company confirmed on Wednesday that it will use the proceeds to retire $110 million, or 92%, of the Semler debt it inherited, including $90 million of convertible notes exchanged for SATA stock and the full repayment of a $20 million Coinbase credit loan.

Strive added that with the retirement of the Coinbase loan, its Bitcoin holdings are now fully unencumbered, and the company plans to pay off the remaining $10 million debt within the next four months.

Strive is now a top 10 corporate Bitcoin treasury company after its 333.9 Bitcoin purchase at an average price of $89,851 boosted its total tally to 13,132 BTC, worth $1.17 billion.