Strive has completed its acquisition of Semler Scientific, marking the first merger between publicly traded Bitcoin Treasury companies.
The outcome? Thanks to the consolidation of the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT), Strive has been able to scale its holdings from 7,626 BTC to 12,798 BTC. Strive is now the eleventh largest BTC treasury company, surpassing Tesla and Trump Media.
As part of the agreementThe team of Semler, Avik Roy, Joe Burnett and Eric Semler will join Strive’s board.
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The merger was first launched in September 2025, valuing Semler at a 210% premium to its then trading price.
As such, Semler’s stock would be exchanged for 21.05 Strive Class A shares. Subsequent shareholder voting in late 2025 sealed the deal, which ultimately closed on January 16. Strive’s ASST stock rose negligibly, but has since risen 28% year-on-year (YTD). At the time of writing, the price stood at $0.96.
What the merger means for Bitcoin DATs
Most of the Bitcoin [BTC] The fears for the government bonds were: low mNAV (stock price trading below their crypto holdings), a debt crisis and dampened BTC prices could lead to forced crypto liquidations.
However, according to some market observers, such scenarios would provide opportunities for larger players to acquire or merge with smaller companies. The Strive-Semler deal confirms this point.
On the debt crisis, the top player, Strategy, has done that increased its US dollar reserves to US$2.25 billion to cover its medium-term liabilities (32 months or almost three years of coverage). This means that the risk of a forced sell-off of BTC until 2028 has been minimized.
In addition, the immediate exclusion risk from the MSCI index was lifted after the market closed global index opted to keep the DATs. Especially as it seeks more feedback and discussion with stakeholders.
Grayscale even characterized the fears as exaggerated and projected,
“These vehicles (DATs) will likely be a permanent feature of the crypto investment landscape, but are unlikely to be a significant source of new demand for tokens or a significant source of selling pressure in 2026.”
Demand for Bitcoin Treasurys in 2025
Here it is worth pointing out that BTC treasury companies have accumulated a total of 855,200 BTC as of early 2026. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the companies added more than 55,000 BTC. This means they took advantage of the discount window as BTC fell over 30% to scale positions.
Source: Het Blok
Final thoughts
- The Strive-Semler deal became the first public merger in the Bitcoin treasury sector and could help reduce liquidation risks.
- Corporate bonds attracted over 55,000 BTC at the end of 2025, despite the market disruption in the fourth quarter.