Those unrealized bitcoin gains topped $533.7 million for the quarter, while diluted earnings came out to $5.24 per share. Strive also reported roughly $2.7 million in revenue, mostly from investment advisory fees and the medical device business it acquired through its January takeover of Semler Scientific.

Strive bought 8,136 BTC during the quarter to end the quarter with 28,000 BTC. It then scooped up another 15,124 BTC in October alone, bringing its current holdings to 43,124 BTC worth roughly $3.25 billion.

Strive bitcoin holdings in USD value. Source: The Block/CoinGecko.

Strive controls the fourth-largest bitcoin treasury among publicly listed companies behind Strategy, Metaplanet and Twenty One.

During a podcast appearance in early September, CEO Matt Cole said it would not be "out of the realm of possibility" to end the year as the number two largest bitcoin holder. It's likely that this could become a reality before we even reach December. Strive now needs just 876 more BTC to reach the number two spot.

Bitcoin the hurdle rate

Strive reported an 18.5% "bitcoin yield" for the quarter, its metric for growth in bitcoin holdings compared to its outstanding shares.

"Bitcoin is the hurdle rate at Strive," Cole wrote on X following the earnings release, arguing that growth in bitcoin per share has been the biggest driver of ASST's more than 100% outperformance against bitcoin this year.

Cole also pointed to the company's SATA and SATS preferred shares to help bring in returns above bitcoin for shareholders. Strive raised around $609 million in proceeds from its SATS offering in October and later launched another $1 billion program to sell more SATS shares in the future.

Strive held a little over $490 million in cash and equivalents as well as roughly $50.1 million in Strategy's own STRC preferred shares.

Despite the positive quarterly report, ASST shares were down about 2% to $20.20 in the first few hours of trading on Friday, extending their decline over the past 30 days to more than 31%. Bitcoin fell roughly 12% over the same period and was trading around $75,600.