Strive purchased 1,110 Bitcoin for about $81.5 million last week, bringing its total holdings to 21,356 BTC. According to a Monday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company paid an average of $73,409 per Bitcoin (BTC), including fees and expenses, for purchases made between Aug. 17 and Aug. 21.

Strive’s cash and cash equivalents rose by $17.1 million to $171.9 million over the period, while its Class A shares outstanding increased by 3.65 million to 79.89 million. Bitcoin was trading near $79,000 on Monday, about 8% above the average price Strive paid for its latest purchase.

The purchase lifted Strive to the seventh-largest publicly traded corporate BTC holder, behind Bullish and ahead of SpaceX, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data. Its Nasdaq-traded ASST shares were up more than 11% in Monday morning trading, poised to extend their roughly 36% year-to-date gains, according to Yahoo Finance data.

“The upside is not simply Bitcoin going higher. It is Bitcoin becoming the fastest horse inside an expanding scarcity trade while $ASST is structured to amplify that outcome as much as we can responsibly support,” CEO Matt Cole said in a post on X ahead of Monday’s market open.

Strive operates a Bitcoin treasury strategy alongside an asset management business that manages nearly $3 billion across exchange-traded funds and a direct-indexing platform, according to the company.

It also held 505,000 shares of Strategy’s STRC preferred stock valued at $48.6 million as of Aug. 21.

Related: Bitmine extends 14-month ETH buying pace as Ether breaks above $2.5K

Strive’s SATA returns to $100 par

SATA closed at $100.01 on Friday, returning to management’s targeted $99-to-$101 trading range after falling as low as $83.30 in late June. Strive narrowed the range from $95-$105 to $99-$101 in March and said it would not issue SATA through at-the-market or follow-on offerings below $100.

Strive launched SATA in November 2025, initially selling 2 million shares at $80 each for $160 million in gross proceeds. The variable-rate perpetual preferred stock has a stated amount and initial liquidation preference of $100 per share.

Top 10 publicly traded companies by Bitcoin holdings. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Unlike Strive’s common stock, SATA is designed as an income product, with a variable dividend rate intended to help keep the shares trading near $100. Strive raised the annualized dividend rate to 13% in April and switched from monthly to daily dividend payments beginning June 16.

SATA is similar to STRC, the variable-rate perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder. STRC was trading near $97 on Monday, below Strategy’s $100 target, while Strategy reported no Bitcoin purchases for the week ended Aug. 23.

Magazine: Bitget CEO isn’t buying the Bitcoin rally — She’s waiting for $50K

Coinbase’s tokenized US stocks went live on Base Monday, alongside a Chainlink integration providing price data to support their use across decentralized finance applications.

Chainlink Data Feeds will provide continuous pricing for Coinbase’s tokenized stocks, including Nvidia, Apple, Meta and Alphabet. The data allows DeFi protocols to integrate the assets into lending markets, decentralized exchanges and structured products, including as collateral for borrowing.

According to Chainlink’s documentation, the feeds value each token using the underlying stock price and a Coinbase-supplied multiplier that accounts for dividends and corporate actions.

The stocks are issued as B20 tokens natively on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain, and are available to non-US users in eligible jurisdictions. Each token represents a direct claim on an underlying share held with regulated broker and custodian Alpaca under an Abu Dhabi Global Market-supervised structure, according to Base. The tokens can be held in self-custody wallets and traded around the clock.

Base said the stocks can be integrated with existing DeFi infrastructure, including using tokenized Nvidia shares as collateral for loans on Aave or supplying tokenized Apple shares to decentralized exchanges. More Coinbase tokenized stocks are expected to launch on Base in the coming weeks.

The news comes as the broader market for tokenized equities continues to grow. The total value of tokenized stocks has reached about $2.48 billion, up 5.2% over the past 30 days, according to RWA.xyz data. Monthly transfer volume has climbed to $27.28 billion, while the number of holders has surpassed 2.1 million.

Tokenized stocks. Source: RWA.xyz

Magazine: Bitget CEO isn’t buying the Bitcoin rally — She’s waiting for $50K

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Analysts at Bernstein are bullish on stablecoin issuer Circle, arguing that a new growth cycle for its USDC stablecoin could provide a significant boost for the company over the next 12 months.

In a research note published Monday, Bernstein said USDC (USDC) is showing signs of what it called “digital dollar reflation” after its supply increased by roughly $2 billion in seven days, reversing a six-month stretch of stagnant or declining growth. The firm maintained an Outperform rating on Circle (CRCL) and a $140 price target, implying roughly 60% upside from current levels. Circle shares have risen roughly 40% over the past month.

Bernstein said the next phase of stablecoin growth could be driven by several factors, including renewed momentum in crypto markets, greater regulatory clarity in the United States, tokenized capital markets and growing adoption of stablecoins for payments. The analysts also pointed to early signs of stablecoin use in payments made by artificial intelligence agents.

Although USDC remains the second-largest dollar-backed stablecoin by market capitalization, well behind Tether’s USDt (USDT), it has gained significant ground in transaction activity. Bernstein said USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from roughly 40% in 2025 to more than 60% so far in 2026, overtaking USDt by that measure.

Stablecoin transaction volume has grown significantly this year. Source: Bernstein

Related: MiCA is coming for DeFi vaults, but regulation will be difficult

Circle’s volatile path since its IPO

Circle shares have experienced significant swings since the company went public in June 2025. The stablecoin issuer priced its shares at $31 and raised roughly $1.1 billion in its initial public offering. After surging in the months following its debut, the stock had fallen back toward its IPO price by November 2025 as a broader crypto market downturn weighed on publicly traded companies with exposure to the sector.

In its most recent quarter, Circle reported $701 million in revenue and $48 million in net income, both up from a year earlier.

Related: Western Union brings stablecoin remittances to Visa network with Stablecard

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Hotter, drier, and windier conditions

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says she does not view Bitcoin’s recent surge toward the $79,000 area as proof the bear market is finished. In an interview on Trade Secrets, Chen argued that downside could still be ahead and indicated she is prepared to keep a large portion of her own portfolio in stablecoins while waiting for a better entry level.

Chen said she would personally look to buy Bitcoin again if the market drops by more than $25,000 from current levels—pinning that “buyback” zone around $50,000. She also cautioned that she does not have special insight into Bitcoin’s next move, while acknowledging that traders can still debate where the year ends.

Key takeaways

• Bitget CEO Gracy Chen is keeping a significant share of her portfolio in stablecoins while monitoring for a possible deeper pullback.
• Chen’s personal Bitcoin re-entry level centers around roughly $50,000, rather than assuming the rally marks a lasting floor.
• She does not expect her timing to be perfect and explicitly avoids committing to a specific month for a $50,000 move.
• Chen says most of her portfolio is Bitcoin and the S&P 500, with small allocations to assets like Ethereum and Solana.
• On altcoins, she appears selective—citing Hyperliquid as the one she is currently more bullish on, conditional on regulatory access in the US.

Why Chen isn’t treating $79,000 as the end of the decline

Bitcoin’s climb over the past week has pushed it to levels near $79,000, but Chen’s reaction is cautious. She framed the rally as something that could still be followed by volatility and a meaningful retracement, rather than an automatic signal that the long downturn is over.

In the same interview, Chen described her approach as pragmatic: she is not trying to predict the exact path of an asset known for sharp reversals. Instead, she is watching for a specific kind of opportunity—a pullback she believes could be large enough to justify adding back exposure.

Chen told Trade Secrets that while she is keeping her expectations open, her personal “sort of price” target for a buyback sits around $50,000. She put it in practical terms, saying she could act if Bitcoin falls by more than $25,000 from where it is now.

Importantly, Chen also avoided presenting her view as a broader forecast. She said she lacks any proprietary edge in timing Bitcoin’s unpredictable market and compared herself to an exchange operator rather than an analyst “good at analyzing Bitcoin price,” emphasizing her role in providing a trading venue.

Other traders still see more downside before the next leg

Chen’s caution is not an outlier in crypto circles. The interview surfaced multiple perspectives suggesting that even with Bitcoin up strongly over a short period, deeper drops remain plausible.

Earlier this month, Transform Ventures founder Michael Terpin told Trade Secrets that “we still have more pain to go,” arguing Bitcoin could eventually fall far from its October 2025 all-time high of $126,100. Terpin’s scenario—described in the interview as a potential 66% decline—would imply a move into the “40s.”

Before this week’s rally, veteran trader Peter Brandt similarly pointed to a potential “bottom on Oct. 4,” according to prior coverage cited within the interview.

While these figures differ in magnitude and timing, the common theme is that traders are separating “short-term strength” from “cycle confirmation.” Chen’s stablecoin posture reflects the same idea: wait for price to reach a level that better matches her risk-reward, even if momentum has already improved.

Chen’s Bitcoin plan: no exact date, but an expectation for volatility

Although Chen anchored a buyback area around $50,000, she was careful not to attach a firm timetable to it. She said her own prediction is not meant to be treated as a precise catalyst or schedule.

Chen explained that she does not have a specific month in mind, offering only a range of possibilities—suggesting “later this year might be a good estimate,” but also saying “maybe next year” is possible.

Her stance matters for readers because it highlights a difference between conviction and commitment. Chen’s view is directionally cautious, but she is not claiming certainty on timing—an approach that aligns with how many traders manage uncertainty in a market that can swing quickly.

Portfolio preferences: Bitcoin focus, minimal altcoin exposure

Beyond price levels, Chen’s comments also shed light on how she approaches risk across the broader market. She said that most of her portfolio is split between Bitcoin and the S&P 500, while noting she does not actively trade much because of her responsibilities running a major exchange.

Chen estimated that less than 1% of her portfolio is allocated to Ethereum and Solana combined, reinforcing the idea that her current exposure is relatively concentrated rather than broadly diversified across many major tokens.

She is also openly selective about altcoins. While running a platform that lists many different assets, Chen said she is “not particularly” enamored with altcoins and singled out one asset as currently more compelling: Hyperliquid. She said she is bullish on Hyperliquid (and referenced the HYPE token’s strong move) in the context of a more crypto-friendly regulatory posture toward the network.

The interview further connected Chen’s enthusiasm to a US regulatory development. She stated that if the CFTC finds a way to allow Hyperliquid to enter the US market properly, it would be a major factor in her optimism. The article notes that President Trump indicated this week that CFTC chair Mike Selig was working on allowing Hyperliquid to officially trade in regulated US markets.

Chen also voiced skepticism toward memecoins, saying she believes the market will not repeat a “memecoin season” like in prior cycles because too many retail investors have been burned. Her remark included the idea that “retails are not stupid,” framing her view as a response to investor experience rather than a claim about any one token’s fundamentals.

On the $1M narrative and Bitcoin’s diminishing cycle returns

In addition to short-term trade levels, Chen addressed a longer-running topic on Trade Secrets: whether Bitcoin can realistically reach $1 million by 2030. She said she does not believe it will happen.

Chen referenced Bitcoin’s shrinking returns across its four-year cycles as a central reason. According to her explanation, the ratio between the all-time high in one cycle and the all-time low in that same cycle has been decreasing over time—implying that future cycle rebounds may not scale in the same way as earlier periods.

Her perspective comes alongside broader debate mentioned in the interview, including bullish calls from figures such as Brian Armstrong and Cathie Wood, but Chen’s argument is anchored in a repeated pattern she believes has emerged from past cycles.

For readers, the main takeaway is that even as Bitcoin regains momentum, market participants are still split between “cycle bottom confirmed” and “rally before deeper retracement.” Watch whether Bitcoin can hold above key levels that traders treat as near-term support; just as importantly, pay attention to whether exchanges and regulated access narratives—such as those involving Hyperliquid—continue to shape where liquidity flows across the ecosystem.