Strive CEO Matt Cole said digital credit products STRC and SATA outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) during its recent 50% drawdown. He called both “extremely credit-worthy” as yield-bearing crypto-linked instruments gain traction.
Cole’s remarks came via the Bitcoin Treasuries account on X. Bitcoin fell from a peak near $126,000 in October 2025 to roughly $60,000 in February. The drawdown tested newly launched preferred stock vehicles tied to Bitcoin balance sheets.
How Digital Credit Held Up
Strategy’s STRC is a variable-rate perpetual preferred stock currently yielding around 11.5%. Strive’s SATA pays a 12.75% dividend following a recent 25-basis-point hike. Both products trade near par by design.
Bitcoin treasury equities such as Strategy and BitMine fell sharply during the February sell-off. Preferred shares stayed comparatively stable through the same period. SATA has logged roughly $1.28 billion in cumulative volume across 104 sessions since its November 2025 launch.
JUST IN: Strive CEO Matt Cole just said "#Bitcoin dropped 50% and digital credit held up better than anyone would have imagined."
"STRC & SATA are extremely credit-worthy instruments."
Strive bought $50 million of Strategy’s STRC in March. The firm described the position as high-quality credit with material yield and higher liquidity than traditional moderate-duration debt. Strive currently holds roughly 13,311 BTC alongside its cash reserves.
Strive raised the SATA dividend rate by 25 basis points to keep the security trading near its $100 par. SATA crossed that mark in March on volume that briefly outpaced JPMorgan preferred shares.
Those holdings back SATA’s dividend obligations of about $56 million annually. Strive said combined assets cover nearly 19 years of payments at recent Bitcoin prices. The buffer aims to keep SATA trading near par through periods of private credit market stress.
“STRC & SATA are extremely credit-worthy instruments,” Cole said at Bitcoin 2026 Conference.
The volatility test arrived early for digital credit. Bitcoin still trades well below its 2025 high. Cole’s claim that the segment held up will face further scrutiny if drawdowns continue.
Other Bitcoin-linked equities have not fared as well. Strategy shares are down roughly 70% from their 2025 peak. BitMine is sitting on about $3.8 billion in unrealized losses tied to its crypto reserves.
Cole has previously framed digital credit as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. Performance under sustained stress will determine whether yield-bearing Bitcoin instruments mature into mainstream credit allocation.
