Strive to acquire ‘distressed’ Mt. Gox Bitcoin at discounted price

Strive Enterprises, the asset management firm founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, has announced plans to purchase distressed Bitcoin claims. 

Some of these claims include those tied to the Mt. Gox estate. This announcement came through a strategic partnership with 117 Castell Advisory Group. The move is aimed at acquiring discounted Bitcoin (BTC) exposure for Strive’s investment products.

According to the SEC filing, the partnership will target claims that have been legally settled but not yet distributed, such as approximately 75,000 BTC from Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy proceedings. 

By acquiring these claims below market value, Strive wants to enhance its Bitcoin-per-share metric and deliver long-term outperformance relative to BTC.

The company is positioning the move as a value-driven strategy, offering investors exposure to Bitcoin without paying the full market price. Strive framed the transaction as part of a broader plan to capitalize on inefficiencies in the crypto credit market.

Vivek Ramaswamy’s journey with Strive

Vivek Ramaswamy co-founded Strive back in 2022 to challenge the prevailing ESG and DEI investment trends, advocating instead for shareholder primacy and depoliticized capitalism. Ramaswamy resigned as Executive Chairman in 2023 to pursue a presidential bid, after which Matt Cole took over leadership.

Ramaswamy briefly joined DOGE but stepped down to potentially pursue a role in Ohio politics.

Under Cole, Strive expanded into wealth management and embraced Bitcoin, planning to become the first publicly traded asset manager with a Bitcoin treasury. Ramaswamy no longer holds an executive role, but his vision continues to shape Strive’s direction, according to the company.

Strive’s merger with Asset Entities 

The filing also noted that the transaction is tied to a proposed merger between Strive and Asset Entities Inc. — a move that would result in a combined company with greater scale and access to public capital markets. ASST is expected to issue new shares as part of the deal.

Mt. Gox, once the world’s leading Bitcoin exchange, collapsed in 2014 after a series of hacks led to the loss of over 800,000 BTC. Creditors have waited more than a decade for partial recovery, with distributions now expected in the coming months.