Shares of Asset Entities (ASST) surged 52% after-hours following shareholder approval for a merger with Strive Enterprises to create a Bitcoin treasury company. The new firm, Strive, Inc., plans to raise $1.5 billion for Bitcoin purchases, bringing the total of public companies holding Bitcoin to 186.

Strive will be led by Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole, with ASST CEO Arshia Sarkhani as CMO. The plan to buy 13,450 Bitcoin with the $1.5 billion raise puts the company in the top 10 largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The merger’s closure is subject to Nasdaq’s approval.

Strive aims to acquire 75,000 Bitcoin from Mt. Gox claims to boost its Bitcoin-per-share ratio. With $2 billion in assets since its 2022 launch, Strive is led by biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The company’s strategy involves tapping equity, convertible debt, perpetual stock, and SPAC mergers for financing.

Public companies now collectively hold 1 million Bitcoin, representing 5.1% of the total supply. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy leads with 638,460 BTC, followed by MARA Holdings and XXI. The surge in corporate Bitcoin adoption is fueling the digital asset’s price rally and market growth.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Asset Entities Rallies on Strive Merger to Make Bitcoin Play