[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee (이윤서)] Asset manager Strive bought an additional 6,182 bitcoin, increasing its total holdings to 43,000 BTC.

Cryptopolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 26 that Strive kept buying bitcoin for corporate treasury use even as bitcoin struggled to defend the $80,000 level.

The purchase increased Strive's holdings from 36,818 BTC it disclosed in mid-October. It held 12,800 BTC at the start of the year, and its current holdings have grown to more than three times that level. The existing portfolio value exceeded $3 billion.

Strive's buying pace accelerated in October. The company bought more than 4,000 BTC in one week in October, spending about $335 million. The average purchase price was between $82,000 and $84,500.

Some confusion remains over the figures surrounding the purchases. On-chain analytics firms pointed to differences between transaction data and the holdings the company disclosed. As a result, the latest holdings are confirmed, but it is difficult to accurately calculate the actual total purchase amount.

The issue is its funding structure. The more Strive expands bitcoin investment, the more ASST investors are exposed to price volatility. Dividend burdens from preferred share issuance, by contrast, do not decrease even if bitcoin prices fall. If the estimated purchase price is in the high $80,000s to low $90,000s, unrealised losses could widen if bitcoin falls below that level. Even then, the company must meet obligations tied to its fundraising.

Strategy's Michael Saylor said his company should not be seen as a simple bitcoin buying firm. He said the key is developing digital credit products for investors seeking returns without directly holding cryptocurrencies, using bitcoin-backed capital.

Strategy is also managing preferred securities such as STRC, which has a par value of $100 per share. If the market price falls below that level, the company can buy them back at a discounted price to reduce the size of the preferred securities and the dividend burden. Dividends are not guaranteed, and investors could suffer losses from a market price decline or a deterioration in the company's credit rating.

Moves by Strive and Strategy show that competition to hold bitcoin is expanding beyond simple purchases to funding structures and the design of investment products. How holdings are supported by financial structures, rather than increases in holdings themselves, is emerging as a key variable in corporate strategy.