Bitcoin
Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor argued that bitcoin treasury companies could eventually capture a share of the global equity and fixed-income markets, pointing to $318.5 trillion in combined capitalization and debt outstanding as the scale of the potential opportunity.
In a Sept. 30 post on X, Saylor said he wants competing bitcoin treasury companies, including Strive, to succeed alongside Strategy. He argued that bitcoin-powered digital credit and treasury-company securities remain young categories operating within much larger established financial markets.
Data from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) put global equity capitalization at $157.8 trillion and fixed-income debt outstanding at $160.7 trillion at the end of 2025. Combined, the two markets reached $318.5 trillion. Saylor noted that even a 0.1% allocation of either market would represent roughly $160 billion.
Saylor separates the potential market into different financial products. He views bitcoin as an asset for long-term allocation, preferred securities as income-oriented instruments, and common shares of bitcoin treasury companies as vehicles for growth capital. Within that framework, he classifies Strategy's STRC and Strive's SATA preferred securities as digital credit, while noting that these instruments prioritize dividends over common equity without automatically creating secured claims on bitcoin.
The broader thesis depends partly on the interaction between bitcoin appreciation and financing capacity. As treasury companies acquire bitcoin, higher asset values could strengthen balance sheets and potentially support additional financing. However, individual purchases do not guarantee price appreciation, and the economic model remains dependent on the relationship between bitcoin returns, funding costs and shareholder dilution.
Saylor also argues that wider acceptance of bitcoin-backed preferred securities could improve financing conditions as investors become more familiar with their structures. Greater analyst coverage, institutional research, trading infrastructure and distribution could potentially reduce the financing spreads demanded by investors, although changes in interest rates could offset those savings.
Strategy's balance-sheet activity provides a current example of this approach. The company disclosed a $152 million STRC repurchase on Sept. 28, demonstrating that preferred securities can also become part of active capital-management decisions. For the broader model to remain sustainable, however, growth in the underlying assets would need to outweigh funding costs and the dilution associated with additional equity issuance.
The relationship between competing treasury companies also illustrates how the ecosystem could become interconnected. Strive disclosed a $50 million purchase of Strategy's STRC on March 11, involving 500,000 shares. The transaction means that a company competing for bitcoin treasury exposure can also participate in another issuer's financing structure.
Strive subsequently disclosed the acquisition of another 1,107 bitcoin for $94.5 million on Sept. 28, bringing its holdings to 27,462 bitcoin. According to CEO Matt Cole, 85% of the company's total capital raised, including warrant proceeds, was allocated to SATA.
This structure creates a potential ecosystem in which multiple issuers can offer different forms of exposure to the same underlying asset. It could also allow investors with different mandates or risk preferences to access bitcoin through common equity, preferred securities or other financial instruments.
At the same time, diversification among issuers does not eliminate the shared exposure to bitcoin itself. Falling bitcoin prices, wider financing spreads or declining equity valuations could pressure multiple companies simultaneously. The model also creates the possibility that problems at individual issuers could affect confidence in the broader category.
For that reason, Saylor identifies capitalization, liquidity and transparent disclosures as important conditions for the expansion of bitcoin treasury companies. The key question for the sector is whether these companies can develop financial products that attract capital from established markets while maintaining sufficient balance-sheet resilience through different bitcoin market conditions.
