Strive CEO Says Tokenized Stocks Won't Impact Bitcoin Treasury Companies - People Are Here For The ‘Premium’

Strive’s Cole said some treasury companies launched with bad debt terms and will not survive.

• Strive CEO Matt Cole said in an interview that tokenized stocks don't threaten Bitcoin treasury companies.
• He said Strive never sold Bitcoin and kept buying through the bear market.
• Cole added that Strive outperformed Bitcoin by more than 100% in 2026.

Shares of Strive (ASST) edged lower in the morning on Wednesday, amid broader market weakness, after CEO Matt Cole said tokenized stocks will not make Bitcoin (BTC) treasury companies obsolete. 

Matt Cole explained on Bloomberg that the same is true of any company. "Why would you want to own dollars when you can own a company that tries to take dollars and earns more dollars?" he said. 

Cole added that when people buy shares in digital asset treasuries, they end up with more Bitcoin than they could hold on their own. This will not change when the asset moves on-chain. “I think the question becomes: Do you trust the management team to actually deliver you more dollars if you're a normal company? More Bitcoin if you're a Bitcoin company?” Coles said, adding that tokenization cannot combat “a premium.”

A Bitcoin treasury company works the same way, Cole said. It takes in capital, buys Bitcoin, and tries to grow the Bitcoin behind each share.