TLDR
- Strive Asset Management plans to buy 75,000 BTC from Mt. Gox claims at a discount
- The deal involves Castell Advisory Group and is pending shareholder approval and SEC submission.
- Mt. Gox, once a major exchange, is now releasing BTC to creditors after years of legal battles following its 2014 collapse.
- Strive joins a growing list of institutions, including Twenty One Capital and Strategy, racing to build large Bitcoin reserves.
Strive Asset Management, a firm linked to entrepreneur and former U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has unveiled a bold strategy to acquire up to 75,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from the estate of defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
The move, detailed in a May 20 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signals Strive’s intent to solidify its Bitcoin reserve and amplify its crypto-focused investment profile ahead of a reverse merger with Asset Entities.
The transaction, if approved, would see Strive purchasing claims tied to Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin holdings at a discount—a maneuver designed to increase the firm’s Bitcoin-per-share metric. The discounted exposure to BTC is viewed as a strategic edge in the firm’s broader ambition to outperform Bitcoin itself over the long term. Castell Advisory Group LLC has been appointed as an advisor to facilitate the acquisition of these distressed digital assets.
A Strategic Play on Digital Gold
According to the SEC filing, Strive has entered into a strategic partnership with 117 Castell Advisory Group to source distressed crypto claims, especially those from the Mt. Gox estate. These claims are legally recognized and await distribution. If successfully acquired, the 75,000 BTC haul could mark one of the largest single accumulations of Bitcoin by a private asset manager in recent history.
The transaction will require shareholder approval, and Strive has indicated it will soon submit the necessary documentation to the SEC. The firm claims the acquisition is less restrictive than entering public markets via a traditional SPV, offering it greater flexibility.
Mt. Gox: A Crypto Ghost from the Past
Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, collapsed in 2014 after losing over 850,000 BTC due to a prolonged and undiscovered hack. Since then, a long-winded legal and rehabilitation process has attempted to reimburse affected creditors. After years of delay, the Mt. Gox Trustee recently began issuing notices indicating that distributions are imminent, marking a turning point in the decade-long saga.
With tens of thousands of BTC still held by the Mt. Gox estate, firms like Strive are now racing to snap up claims at below-market prices, betting on the eventual release and appreciation of the underlying assets.
A Growing Institutional Bitcoin Arms Race
Strive’s move comes amid intensifying competition among institutional investors for dominance in the Bitcoin market. Just last month, Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin-focused investment firm co-founded by Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, Softbank, and Bitfinex, announced plans to raise $385 million in convertible notes and $200 million in equity. The firm, with an initial capitalization of 42,000 BTC ( valued around currently $3.9 billion), aims to rival MicroStrategy’s dominant position in the Bitcoin space.
Led by Strike founder Jack Mallers, Twenty One Capital is pursuing a Nasdaq listing under the ticker XXI. The company’s value proposition hinges on capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure and agility, two traits it claims traditional players like Strategy cannot match due to their existing scale.
Are Bitcoin corporate treasury companies in competition, or are they all working together to grow the space?
Don't miss my full interview with Jack Mallers about Twenty One Capital, Strike and much more… https://t.co/O5Ucgv3rnO pic.twitter.com/5LIyblyi1Q
— Natalie Brunell ⚡️ (@natbrunell) May 15, 2025
Strategy, the Michael Saylor-led firm, holds over 534,000 BTC on its books. Analysts argue that such scale limits the per-share impact of new BTC acquisitions, leaving room for smaller, more nimble entrants like Strive and Twenty One Capital to outpace it in investor returns.
The Big Picture
According to Bernstein analysts, corporations are poised to hold up to $330 billion worth of Bitcoin on their balance sheets by 2029. However, the strategy isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The analysts emphasize that firms with slower growth rates and high liquidity are the best candidates for adopting Bitcoin-heavy treasuries.
With Strive now entering the fray alongside giants like Twenty One Capital and Strategy, a new era of corporate Bitcoin accumulation is clearly underway. The battle is no longer just about buying Bitcoin, it’s about outmaneuvering the competition with strategic timing, deal structure, and scale.
