In a post on X, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrive, wrote that “the most interesting story in Bitcoin (BTC) right now is the rise of $SATA in the credit markets and the embrace of $ASST by the capital markets,” directly referencing Strive’s Bitcoin Treasury strategy as an indicator of the next phase of institutional adoption.

SATA is Strive’s perpetual preferred stock that pays a high, fixed dividend funded from a growing Bitcoin treasury, while ASST is the company’s Nasdaq-listed common stock that has effectively become a publicly traded wrapper around a growing Bitcoin treasury.

In a March update, Strive revealed that it had raised its SATA dividend by 25 basis points to 12.75 percent annually, announcing quarterly payouts of $1.0625 per share and extending its dividend reserve to 18 months, backed by a mix of cash, cash equivalents, and Strategies STRC preferred stock.

 

How are SATA and ASST technologies changing Bitcoin funding?

These improvements come on top of a previous move by Strive to allocate $50 million from its own treasury to STRC, highlighting how the company is at the crossroads of credit and Bitcoin-denominated equities, increasingly funding Bitcoin accumulation without issuing traditional debt.

According to a recent report, Strive raised approximately 13,741 Bitcoin after purchasing an additional 113 Bitcoins for about $7.75 million at an average price of around $68,577 per coin, making it the ninth-largest Bitcoin holder with a treasury value of approximately $950 million as of early April.

Meanwhile, the company’s capital structure relies heavily on issuing SATA shares above the par value of $100. This price is triggered in market software and allows Strive to sell more preferred shares to meet demand from income-seeking investors while channeling the proceeds into further Bitcoin purchases.

 

Why does Saylor describe SATA and ASST as the main story for Bitcoin?

Saylor’s praise reflects a broader shift in how Bitcoin exposure is accumulating. MicroStrategy’s STRC preferred shares have already surpassed $10 billion in value, and the company is funding billions of dollars in Bitcoin acquisitions through perpetual securities that carry returns, rather than diluted capital increases or traditional bonds.

A recent filing shows that Strategy& purchased 13,927 Bitcoins for nearly $1 billion, fully funded through STRC sales. This brings its Bitcoin holdings to nearly 781,000 Bitcoins without issuing new common stock—a pattern that underscores how preferred stocks have become a major driver of increased Bitcoin demand.

Research by the NYDIG indicates that STRC and SATA "represent a new class of Bitcoin-related financing" defined less by traditional cash-flow-based credit metrics and more by asset coverage, market confidence, and continued access to capital markets—a structure that can amplify purchases when securities are trading near par but can also halt issuance if sentiment shifts.

Strive's messaging portrays Bitcoin as "the safest, most transparent, and most resilient reserve asset available to companies today," positioning SATA as a means to transform this reserve into double-digit returns for investors, while ASST becomes a liquid equity claim on a leveraged Bitcoin balance sheet.

In the background, market data shows that the preferred issuance has already funded over 2,500 bitcoins in additional demand via STRC alone in a short period—equivalent to several days of new mining supply—while Strive's SATA IPO raised nearly $149.3 million, which was largely reinvested in additional Bitcoin purchases.

That inverse cycle between high-coupon preferred bonds like SATA, specialized instruments like STRC, and equity capital via ASST is precisely what Saylor refers to as "the most interesting story" in Bitcoin today, because it transforms Bitcoin from a mere asset to buy and hold into the primary collateral for a multi-layered and growing credit and equity ecosystem.