Strive Buys $280M in Bitcoin as US Crypto Rules and Thailand ETFs Shift Markets

Corporate bitcoin accumulation accelerated this week as Strive, Inc. disclosed its largest purchase since January. The Block reported that the Vivek Ramaswamy-co-founded firm added 3,311 BTC between Oct. 5 and Oct. 9, paying an average of roughly $84,500 per coin and lifting its total treasury to 32,773 BTC. The $280 million spend represents Strive's biggest single-week buy since its all-stock merger with Semler Scientific in January and cements its place among the top five publicly traded bitcoin holders.

Strategy also filed a weekly update, but its scope was far more modest. The firm added just 250 BTC for approximately $21.5M, directing a larger share of capital toward preferred-share repurchases rather than fresh coin purchases. The contrast between the two companies highlights diverging strategies among corporate treasury holders as bitcoin trades near $83,300, slightly below what Strive paid per coin just days earlier.

US Crypto Regulation Shifts to the SEC and CFTC After Senate Setback

On the regulatory front, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 12, pushing the primary burden of crypto oversight onto existing federal agencies. Former CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham stated that the agency's jurisdiction covers nearly all crypto activity and that new legislation is not required to regulate the sector.

Current CFTC Chair Michael Selig echoed that posture, and the agency's Oct. 5 proposals, known as Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, would impose registration and disclosure requirements on leveraged and margined crypto transactions involving retail investors. TD Cowen analysts cautioned, however, that the CFTC's full rulemaking framework is unlikely to be finalized before early 2028, leaving the industry in a period of agency-driven but legislatively uncertain oversight.

Globally, Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission moved in the opposite direction by finalizing a new crypto ETF framework set to take effect Oct. 16. The rules initially limit eligible assets to bitcoin and ether, require funds to maintain average net exposure of at least 80% of NAV to a single asset, and mandate the use of SEC-regulated custodians. Thai mutual funds and private funds will now be permitted to buy locally listed crypto ETFs under the framework, a right previously limited to foreign-listed products. The move positions Thailand alongside a growing list of jurisdictions formalizing regulated crypto investment vehicles as institutional demand for direct-exposure products continues to build worldwide.