Bitcoin treasury firm Strive announced on Thursday that the firm has paid off 92% of the debt it took on after buying Semler Scientific earlier this month. At the same time, it bought 333.9 more Bitcoins, affirming its long-term confidence in the og-cryptocurrency.
The company raised the money to pay off the debt through a special type of stock sale, called preferred stock, instead of taking on more loans.
Thanks to the investor interest being strong, with demand reaching $600 million, Strive increased the amount it planned to raise from $150 million to $225 million.
The approach helped the company buy more Bitcoin without adding extra debt or financial risk.
The firm, backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, completed its merger with Semler Scientific on January 13.
Strive prioritizes balance sheet clean up over added risk
Strive says it’s using the new money raised in the special stock sale in a very practical way. Instead of taking on more risk, the company is first cleaning up its finances.
Most of the funds raised are being used to wipe out nearly all the debt it took on from Semler, including paying back a Coinbase loan and converting other obligations into preferred stock.
Once the balance sheet is in better shape, whatever remains will go toward building its Bitcoin holdings. The idea, Strive says, is to grow its Bitcoin exposure while keeping debt low and financial pressure under control.
Strive moves toward a fully debt-free Bitcoin treasury
Strive said clearing the Coinbase loan means all of its Bitcoin is now fully owned, with no debt tied to it, giving the company much more flexibility over its holdings. It added that the last $10 million of debt will be paid off within the next four months.
The company has also climbed into the top 10 corporate Bitcoin holders after buying 333.9 Bitcoin at an average price of $89,851, taking its total stash to 13,132 BTC, worth roughly $1.17 billion.
Strive noted that its Bitcoin yield is 21.2% so far this quarter, showing strong growth in Bitcoin exposure for each share held.