Spot Bitcoin ETFs were supposed to be the main event. Matt Cole thinks they were just the opening act.
Cole, CEO of Strive, is making a bold claim: “digital credit,” yield-bearing preferred equity from Bitcoin treasury companies, represents a larger opportunity than the ETF wave. Cole pegs the addressable market at $3 trillion, roughly 1% of the $300 trillion global credit market.
Strive’s flagship product, SATA, delivers a 12.75% annualized dividend with daily payouts. Strategy and Semler’s competing product, STRC, yields approximately 11.5%.
The sector has already accumulated around $10 billion in less than a year.
Digital credit products were stress-tested during one of Bitcoin’s nastier corrections. Between October 2025 and February 2026, Bitcoin dropped roughly 50%. Digital credit products outperformed Bitcoin during that period. Cole has characterized this moment as an “iPhone moment” for Bitcoin treasuries.
Strive filed for the T-Strive Digital Credit ETF, ticker DGCR, with expectations for it to become effective around mid-June 2026. Meanwhile, Strive bolstered its position by acquiring Semler Scientific, making it the first Bitcoin treasury company to acquire another public Bitcoin treasury business. The combined entity now holds approximately 16,500 BTC.