Strive Defends Its $1.3 Billion Bitcoin Bet Amid Criticism from Short-Seller Jim Chanos

Strive Inc., a company that trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker ASST, has amassed nearly $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin in its treasury, making it the seventh-largest corporate holder globally.

Cole, the CEO of Strive, says that while critics see this as a reckless move, he believes that both camps fundamentally agree on the problem: traditional treasury strategies are losing ground to currency debasement.

Cole frames Bitcoin as the 'hardest hurdle rate' for corporate capital allocation, meaning that if your treasury strategy can't outperform Bitcoin over time, you need to explain why you're not just holding Bitcoin instead.

He argues that critics like short-seller Jim Chanos are missing the point, and that they share a common recognition of fiscal challenges such as the weakening purchasing power of fiat currencies and the ballooning government debt.