Wall Street’s Newest Bitcoin Treasury Bull: B. Riley Launches Upside Coverage on Strategy and Strive

B. Riley has entered the bitcoin treasury conversation in a meaningful way, initiating coverage on two Nasdaq-listed bitcoin accumulation companies with Buy ratings. The firm launched on Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) with a $175 price target and on Strive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASST) with a $12 price target, analyst Fedor Shabalin leading the Strive initiation. With bitcoin currently trading near $70,000 and both stocks down sharply from their highs, B. Riley’s thesis centers on valuation compression as a signal of opportunity in the firm’s view, rather than a structural deterioration.

The Analyst’s Case

For Strategy, B. Riley’s constructive view leans heavily on scale and structural dominance. The company now holds 738,731 bitcoins, making it the largest corporate bitcoin holder by a wide margin, and has built what the firm describes as a diversified digital credit platform spanning six separate securities. That capital structure complexity, which includes five series of perpetual preferred stock alongside common equity and convertible notes, gives Strategy tools to raise capital across market conditions that smaller peers simply cannot replicate.

The valuation argument is equally central. Strategy shares currently trade at 1.2x net asset value, a significant compression from the 3.4x peak reached in 2024. B. Riley frames that multiple contraction as an opportunity, not a structural problem, particularly if the regulatory environment for crypto continues to improve.On Strive, B. Riley analyst Fedor Shabalin highlights the company’s dual-engine business model combining a bitcoin treasury with an operating asset management business. The firm points to a solid capital structure with minimal near-term convertible debt maturities as a key differentiator, offering income-focused investors a degree of payment certainty that pure-play bitcoin vehicles do not provide. The current share price, B. Riley argues, reflects a valuation discount relative to underlying business strength.

Company Snapshot & Recent Performance

Strategy’s bitcoin accumulation has been relentless. The company raised $25.3 billion in FY2025, making it the largest equity issuer among U.S. public companies for the second consecutive year. It added 41,002 bitcoins in January 2026 alone. The software business underneath the treasury strategy is also showing momentum, with subscription services revenue growing 62.1% year over year in Q4 2025. Despite that operational progress, MSTR shares are down 8.56% year to date and have fallen 51.62% over the past year as bitcoin pulled back sharply from its late-2025 highs.

Strive went public through a reverse acquisition of Asset Entities in September 2025, becoming the first publicly traded bitcoin treasury asset management firm. It now holds approximately 13,132 BTC following the merger and additional purchases and raised $762.6 million through PIPE financing. It recently completed its all-stock acquisition of Semler Scientific on January 16, 2026, adding a medical device business to the mix. ASST shares are down 42.34% year to date and have dropped 28.58% over the past month, reflecting both broader bitcoin weakness and the stock’s early-stage volatility as a newly public company.

Why the Move Matters Now

B. Riley’s initiation arrives at a moment when bitcoin treasury stocks have absorbed significant price damage. Bitcoin itself has traded between roughly $65,008 and $74,100 in March 2026 alone, down from a peak near $125,226 in October 2025. That drawdown has compressed the NAV multiples that these companies commanded at peak enthusiasm, which is precisely the setup B. Riley is flagging.

For MSTR, the $175 target implies meaningful upside from the current price of $138.95. The broader analyst consensus on the stock is already quite bullish, with 13 Buy ratings and just 1 Hold among tracked analysts, and a consensus target of $394.38. B. Riley’s $175 target is notably more conservative than that consensus, suggesting a measured rather than aggressive bull case. For ASST, the $12 target against a current price of $8.51 reflects the firm’s view that the market has not yet priced in the asset management business as a standalone value driver.Prediction markets currently assign a 38.5% probability to bitcoin reaching $100,000 by year-end 2026, with an 88.5% probability that Strategy avoids a margin call in 2026. Those figures provide useful macro context for evaluating either name.

Context for Investors

Strategy is the largest corporate bitcoin holder with an established capital markets track record, while Strive is a newly public company with a dual-engine model combining bitcoin accumulation and asset management. Both companies carry significant bitcoin price sensitivity: each $1,000 move in bitcoin translates to roughly $739 million in treasury value for Strategy and roughly $13.1 million for Strive. These dynamics are reflected in both companies’ recent share price performance.