BNY Mellon raises its Strive stake by 39% to 257,718 shares
BNY Mellon has increased its stake in the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury company Strive by 39%, bringing its holding to 257,718 shares.
The stake was worth approximately $6 million as of early November 2026. For a bank with over $45 trillion in assets under custody, this amount is a rounding error.
The move was a share purchase, not a direct purchase of Bitcoin. BNY Mellon raised its equity holding in Strive, which now owns over 43,000 BTC on its balance sheet.
Strive was co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy and is run by CEO Matt Cole. The company is among the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holders, in the same conversation as MicroStrategy.
Debt-free financing model
Strive has funded its Bitcoin buying mainly through stock offerings and a balance sheet with no debt. This approach differs from the playbook some peers have used.
A key tool is perpetual preferred stock, which yields between 13% and 15%. These instruments pay a dividend but carry no maturity date.
This structure changes the risk profile in one notable way. Without loans backed by Bitcoin, a sharp drop in the coin’s price does not force the company to sell holdings to satisfy lenders.
That obligation does not care what Bitcoin does next.
Institutional route to Bitcoin
BNY Mellon’s purchase fits a broader trend among institutional investors. Many are choosing equities in Bitcoin treasury firms as their route to the asset, rather than buying coins outright or using exchange-traded funds.
Holding a Nasdaq-listed stock slots neatly into existing systems, compliance processes and reporting lines. Holding actual Bitcoin, by contrast, raises questions about wallets, keys and specialized custody.
For Strive, a growing roster of institutional shareholders could matter. A company that funds Bitcoin purchases by selling stock depends on a steady appetite for that stock.
What this means for investors
The immediate impact of this particular trade is likely limited. A position worth approximately $6 million is small relative to BNY Mellon’s overall portfolio and small relative to Strive’s Bitcoin holdings.
Strive’s model offers a test case for other firms weighing a treasury strategy. Funding purchases with preferred equity rather than debt is one answer to the question of how to stack Bitcoin without risking a forced sale.
Whether that answer holds up depends on Strive’s ability to keep servicing those 13-15% dividends. For investors weighing treasury stocks, the takeaway is to look beyond the headline Bitcoin count.
The financing behind those coins shapes the risk as much as the coins themselves.
Related
