Strive Inc., the Bitcoin-focused company founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, has unveiled a bold shift toward a “Daily Dividend Company” model while reporting a debt-free quarter. In a GlobeNewswire release outlining its first-quarter 2026 results, Strive said its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, ticker SATA, will begin paying dividends every business day starting June 16, at an annualized rate of 13%. The payouts will be funded by income generated from the company’s Bitcoin treasury strategy, marking a notable departure from traditional buy-and-hold stances.

CEO Matt Cole framed the move as a milestone in a focused push to reward shareholders while leveraging Bitcoin holdings. He described a balance sheet that is no longer burdened by debt or margin requirements, positioned to weather the volatility inherent in a Bitcoin-centric strategy. The decision to deploy daily dividends follows a path similar to approaches popularized by Strategy, Michael Saylor’s venture that has used perpetual preferred stock to finance Bitcoin purchases while delivering investor payouts on a biweekly cadence. Bitcoin For Corporations contributor Adam Livingston highlighted the pace of innovation in digital credit that this approach represents, calling the daily payout model a striking development for crypto treasury management.

The company also reported an unrealized net loss of $265.9 million for Q1, attributed to a 23% decline in Bitcoin’s market value over the quarter. Strive noted that the unrealized loss largely reflects the mark-to-market hit on its Bitcoin holdings, not a realized cash outflow. The quarter’s performance underscores the ongoing challenge of aligning a volatile crypto treasury with financing and dividend objectives.

In another balance-sheet update, Strive announced it had ended the quarter with no outstanding debt after repurchasing the remaining long-term notes. The company also emphasized zero margin requirements and zero encumbered Bitcoin, portraying a debt-free, liquidation-ready posture designed to endure price swings in its flagship asset.

Strive’s stock responded to the news, rising 5.8% to $17.70 on the session and edging higher in after-hours trading. The shares are up about 2.4% for the year but remain down more than 80% over the last 12 months, reflecting the broader bear market pressures facing many crypto-focused firms. As the quarter closed, Strive reported a Bitcoin position of 15,009 coins, up from 13,628 at the end of Q1 after adding 1,381 through ongoing treasury activities. Based on current prices, those holdings were valued at roughly $1.22 billion. The company had previously disclosed it held 13,628 Bitcoin, including 5,048 acquired via its Semler Scientific deal earlier in the quarter.

Market participants will be watching how the daily dividend initiative interacts with the company’s Bitcoin yield strategies and the evolving regulatory and macro environment. The arrangement ties investor income directly to the performance and income of the Bitcoin treasury, rather than to discretionary cash flows alone. The strategy’s proponents argue it creates a more predictable income stream, even as the underlying Bitcoin price remains volatile.

In the broader crypto earnings landscape, other notable players moved in tandem with the market’s mixed tone. Nakamoto reported a substantial QoQ revenue gain in Q1—up 500% to $2.7 million, with $1.1 million coming from using its Bitcoin holdings as collateral to earn yield. Circle rose about 15% after posting a quarter with revenue up 20% QoQ to $694 million, exceeding expectations, while Coinbase posted a sizable first-quarter revenue decline, and Robinhood’s revenue also missed estimates, contributing to a mixed sector backdrop as investors digest crypto-adjacent earnings.

For context, Strive’s path sits among several crypto treasury players experimenting with increasingly sophisticated capital structures to fund Bitcoin accumulation while delivering investor value. The daily-dividend approach, if sustained, could raise the bar for how crypto-native firms think about capital markets access and liquidity during bear markets. It also invites questions about tax treatment, payout sustainability, and how such a model scales as Bitcoin pricing and volatility evolve.

Key takeaways

• Strive announces SATA daily dividends starting June 16, at a 13% annual rate, funded by its Bitcoin treasury income.
• The company exits Q1 2026 debt-free after buying back remaining long-term notes, with zero margin requirements and no encumbered Bitcoin.
• Q1 2026 posted an unrealized net loss of $265.9 million due to a 23% quarterly drop in Bitcoin’s market value.
• Strive holds 15,009 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $1.22 billion at current prices, up from 13,628 at quarter’s end.
• Stock reaction was positive, with a 5.8% intraday gain to $17.70 and a further uptick in after-hours trading; year-to-date gain around 2.4% but down about 81% year over year.

A debt-free, dividend-focused path amid Bitcoin volatility

The new daily dividend framework marks a strategic expansion for Strive beyond a simple buy-and-hold stance. By aiming to distribute daily income to SATA holders, the company attempts to offer ongoing value to investors regardless of short-term price swings in Bitcoin. The approach mirrors the broader industry tendency to blend traditional equity mechanics with crypto treasury strategies, creating hybrid instruments designed to attract income-focused investors while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin’s upside potential.

Strive’s debt elimination reshapes its balance sheet and risk profile. With no margin loans or encumbrances on its Bitcoin, the company emphasizes resilience against liquidity squeezes and market downturns. As the market digests the implications of daily payouts, investors will assess whether the yield cadence can be maintained even as Bitcoin’s price oscillates—particularly in the wake of a quarter defined by material price declines.

What the numbers suggest for the quarter ahead

Looking forward, the Q1 results illustrate a contrast between income ambitions and asset volatility. While the daily dividend program may attract income-seeking investors, the realized reality of the quarter’s mark-to-market losses underscores the sensitivity of these strategies to Bitcoin price movements. The combination of debt-free leverage, a sizable Bitcoin treasury, and daily payout commitments makes Strive a case study in crypto-native financing that could influence how peers structure capital rounds, yield-bearing instruments, and shareholder communications during a prolonged phase of price volatility.

Market observers will also be watching how Strive’s approach compares to contemporaries pursuing similar models. For example, Nakamoto’s Q1 performance showed meaningful revenue growth from yield-based strategies, while Circle and Coinbase provided a broader market backdrop—highlighting divergent outcomes among crypto-influenced firms in the same period. As the sector weighs these developments, Strive’s daily dividend initiative stands out as a notable experiment at the intersection of crypto governance, investor income, and treasury management.

Next up, investors should monitor how the daily payout schedule intersects with quarterly performance, how the Bitcoin position evolves through subsequent treasury activity, and whether the model sustains itself as macro conditions shift. The coming quarters will reveal whether this dividend strategy can deliver durable value in a volatile market while keeping Strive debt-free and nimble.

Source disclosures and quotes accompany this coverage, including the GlobeNewswire release detailing Strive’s Q1 2026 results and the company’s statements on debt elimination and daily dividends. Further context comes from related crypto treasury developments and contemporaneous earnings reports from peer companies in the sector.

Crypto data company Dune said it is laying off 25% of its workforce, citing a need to restructure its business to focus on its core products.

“We’re restructuring Dune to sharpen our focus around the core data products thousands of customers across the crypto industry rely on,” Dune co-founder and CEO Fredrik Haga posted to X on Thursday. “That unfortunately means we’ve let 25% of the team go this week.”

Haga did not share the number of staff who were laid off. The company’s LinkedIn shows about 150 employees. Haga said the company remained “well capitalized” and that Dune was “all-in” on artificial intelligence and growing institutional interest in crypto.

Layoffs and closures are rising across the crypto and tech sectors this year, with many companies citing AI as both a help and a hindrance.

Just this month, Coinbase cut 700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, on May 5, citing an increase in AI use, while the crypto news outlet DL News shuttered on Friday, citing part of the reason was decreased reach in internet search results due to AI aggregation.

Haga said that Dune’s Model Context Protocol, or MCP, which allows AI to interact with the platform, means “teams and agents can now build dashboards and workflows without needing to know anything” about data infrastructure or SQL, a programming language for databases.

Source: Fredrik Haga

He added the company would also be “investing heavily” in its data products and services for institutions, as the company sees “currencies, stocks, bonds, commodities and more” are moving onchain.

Related: How AI became crypto’s favorite reason to cut staff

Dune’s cutbacks add to the more than 5,000 jobs eliminated at major crypto companies this year.

Block Inc. undertook the biggest round of layoffs of a crypto company so far in 2026, halving its workforce and cutting 4,000 staff in February.

The crypto exchanges Gemini and Crypto.com also laid off 200 and around 180 employees, respectively, earlier this year, with each citing the rising use of AI for efficiency gains.

Layoffs are also widespread in the US tech sector, with 137 companies cutting nearly 109,000 jobs so far in 2026, according to data from Layoffs.fyi.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs: Mid-2026

Key Highlights

• First-quarter revenue reaches $186.7M as LUNR stock gains momentum on record backlog

• Contract backlog surges to unprecedented $1.1B following major NASA awards and acquisitions

• Lanteris acquisition drives substantial revenue expansion and space infrastructure capabilities

• Company maintains full-year revenue projection between $900M and $1B for 2026

• Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $2.7M marks significant profitability milestone for space firm

Shares of Intuitive Machines attracted investor interest following a robust first-quarter performance that saw revenue expand nearly threefold while the contract backlog climbed to an all-time high. LUNR stock traded at $36.43, representing a gain of $0.75 or 2.10% during the session. The upward movement came on the heels of impressive revenue figures, favorable profitability metrics, and significant contract awards.

Intuitive Machines, Inc., LUNR

The lunar and space infrastructure enterprise delivered $186.7 million in quarterly revenue for the three months concluding March 31, 2026. This figure represented an approximately 200% increase compared to the same period last year, driven substantially by the integration of Lanteris Space Systems. Performance across Commercial Lunar Payload Services, Orbital Mission Enabling Services, and National Security and Navigation Services programs contributed to the results.

January 2026 marked the completion of Intuitive Machines‘ $800 million Lanteris acquisition, significantly broadening the company’s space infrastructure footprint. This strategic transaction positioned the firm as a more comprehensive prime contractor serving commercial, civil, and national security space sectors. Notably, the Q1 revenue figure did not capture 12 days of Lanteris operations, representing approximately $13 million in excluded revenue.

Profitability Milestone Strengthens Financial Position

Intuitive Machines achieved $2.7 million in positive Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter, establishing a new profitability benchmark. This achievement provides a solid foundation as the organization scales up its participation in major space and defense initiatives. Management maintained its commitment to delivering positive Adjusted EBITDA for the complete fiscal year.

The company’s contract backlog climbed to $1.1 billion by quarter’s close, representing an $842 million increase from the December 2025 position. This substantial growth stemmed primarily from the Lanteris integration and additional NASA lunar transportation contracts. Consequently, the firm entered subsequent quarters with enhanced revenue predictability and contracted work visibility.

New contract awards totaling $428.9 million were secured throughout the three-month period. Notable wins included Space Development Agency tracking layer assignments and a substantial $180.4 million Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract from NASA. This NASA award represented the company’s fifth CLPS task order and inaugural Nova-D cargo-class lunar lander assignment.

Strategic Acquisitions Enhance Service Capabilities

During the second quarter, Intuitive Machines entered into an agreement to acquire Goonhilly Earth Station along with its COMSAT division. This strategic move aims to establish a comprehensive space-to-ground data services infrastructure spanning multiple orbital regimes. The proposed network would facilitate communications, navigation capabilities, data processing functions, and support for deep space exploration missions.

The organization also secured a position on the U.S. Space Force’s Andromeda IDIQ contract during Q2. This contract vehicle features a potential ceiling value of $6.2 billion across all awardees. Significantly, this represented the initial revenue synergy opportunity leveraging combined capabilities from both Intuitive Machines and Lanteris operations.

Looking ahead to full-year 2026, Intuitive Machines projects revenue will land between $900 million and $1 billion. This guidance incorporates the strengthened backlog position, expanded infrastructure capabilities, and increasing mission scope requirements. As such, LUNR’s recent price action reflects both near-term operational momentum and a robust pipeline of future space services opportunities.

Fuutura unveils non-custodial multi-asset trading protocol with identity attestation

Fuutura has launched a non-custodial trading protocol designed to support multiple asset types while incorporating identity attestation at the protocol layer. The move signals a continued effort in the crypto industry to reconcile decentralized trading models with regulatory and compliance needs without returning custody of user funds to centralized intermediaries.

Non-custodial trading protocols remove the need for users to hand private keys or funds to a third party, a model preferred by traders and institutions seeking to reduce counterparty risk. By building identity attestation into the protocol itself, Fuutura aims to provide a mechanism for verifying participants in a way that can support compliance processes while preserving user control over assets.

What this means for DeFi and regulated markets

Embedding identity attestation at the protocol level reflects broader industry trends toward programmable compliance. For regulators and compliance teams, having an auditable way to link on-chain activity to verified identifiers can assist in anti-money laundering and sanctions screening. For market participants, protocol-level identity could enable institutional counterparties to interact with decentralized markets with clearer operational controls.

At the same time, adding identity features to trading rails raises questions about privacy, data protection, and the potential for surveillance. The approach chosen for identity attestation will determine how much personally identifiable information is exposed on-chain, how attestations are issued and revoked, and who can verify those attestations. Balancing transparency for regulators with privacy for users remains a central design challenge.

Technical and operational considerations

Non-custodial, multi-asset trading involves smart contracts that manage order matching, settlement, and asset transfers while keeping private keys in users’ control. Layering identity attestation on top of that requires secure, verifiable credential systems and well-audited smart contracts to prevent new attack vectors.

Industry implementations of on-chain identity typically rely on cryptographic attestations, decentralized identifiers, or off-chain verifiers that attest to a user’s status. The precise implementation details will dictate interoperability with wallets, custody solutions and compliance tooling. Any protocol-level identity system must also account for key recovery, credential rotation and dispute resolution processes, which are critical for institutional adoption.

Market implications

If Fuutura’s protocol gains traction, it could appeal to institutional traders and liquidity providers who have been wary of purely permissionless venues. Protocol-level attestations may lower onboarding friction for counterparties that need to prove regulatory compliance while still wanting to retain custody of assets.

However, the success of such an approach depends on network effects and standards. For identity attestations to be useful across markets, they must be accepted by a range of counterparties and verifiers. That will likely require collaboration with identity providers, compliance vendors and other protocol teams to create interoperable attestations and common verification flows.

Risks and challenges

Adding identity features increases the protocol’s attack surface. Smart contract vulnerabilities, poorly designed attestation schemes, or insufficient privacy protections could expose users to new risks. Robust security audits and transparent governance will be important to build trust.

There is also regulatory uncertainty. Different jurisdictions have varying rules on identity verification, data retention and privacy. A protocol designed to be compliant in one market may face legal friction in another, complicating cross-border trading and liquidity aggregation.

Industry context and outlook

The launch of an identity-enabled, non-custodial trading protocol follows a wave of experimentation in decentralized finance where builders seek to make DeFi more palatable to traditional finance while retaining decentralization benefits. Firms and protocols are exploring hybrid models that combine cryptographic attestations with off-chain compliance checks to meet institutional requirements.

For market participants, the next questions are practical: will such protocols attract sufficient liquidity, how will they integrate with existing custody and prime brokerage services, and can they offer competitive fees and execution quality compared with centralized venues? The answers will determine whether identity-attested protocols become a niche compliance play or a mainstream market infrastructure innovation.

Fuutura’s announcement adds to an evolving debate about how to scale decentralized trading for a broader set of users. The coming months will show whether protocol-level identity attestation can deliver a workable compromise between regulatory expectations and the privacy and autonomy that underpin the decentralized finance movement.

Key takeaways:

• Fuutura launched a non-custodial, multi-asset trading protocol that integrates identity attestation at the protocol layer.
• Protocol-level identity can lower onboarding friction for regulated counterparties but raises privacy and security design challenges.
• Interoperability, strong security audits and cross-jurisdictional legal clarity will be critical for adoption.