Ramaswamy’s Strive targets Bitcoin-linked corporate bonds in new ETF plan

Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management plans to target Bitcoin-linked corporate bonds with its new exchange-traded fund.

Strive Asset Management, an asset and wealth manager founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, plans to launch a new exchange-traded fund that will invest in bonds issued by companies to fund Bitcoin (BTC) purchases, the Financial Times reports, citing a regulatory filing.

The fund, called the Strive Bitcoin Bond ETF, has been registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Per the regulatory filing, the ETF will actively invest in bonds and use derivatives like swaps and options. These investments will target companies that use bond proceeds to buy Bitcoin, the report reads.

The filing points out MicroStrategy as a key focus, noting that the company, founded by Michael Saylor, has invested over $27 billion in Bitcoin since 2020. Its MSTR share price has surged nearly 600% in 2024.

Strive expects 80% of the ETF’s exposure to come from “Bitcoin bonds” issued by MicroStrategy and similar companies. Matthew Cole, Strive’s chief executive will manage the ETF. He will be joined by portfolio managers Jeffrey Sherman and Randol Curtis, the report reads.

Ramaswamy is a biotech entrepreneur turned asset manager and a vocal critic of “woke capitalism.” He co-founded Strive Asset Management to promote shareholder priorities over political agendas. Ramaswamy is also set to lead a new government efficiency department under Donald Trump, alongside Elon Musk, following Trump’s victory in the recent U.S. presidential election.