rewrite this title Trump Advisor Vivek Ramaswamy Adds Bitcoin to $1.7 Billion Asset Management Firm – Decrypt

Strive Asset Management, a financial services firm co-founded by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, said Friday that it’s embracing Bitcoin in Texas.

Managing $1.7 billion in assets, the company said in a press release that a core part of its business moving forward will be “integrating Bitcoin into standard portfolios of everyday Americans,” as its headquarters relocates to the Lone Star state from Ohio.

Part of Strive’s new wealth management business, the firm cited “unsustainable global debt levels, rising fixed income yields, long-run inflationary pressures, persistent geopolitical pressures, and potential restrictive monetary controls” as factors making Bitcoin a valid hedge.

Meanwhile, Strive announced that it had completed a $30 million Series B round led by Cantor Fitzgerald. Serving as a campaign surrogate for former President Donald Trump, Ramaswamy had been a vocal crypto supporter before exiting the 2024 race, while Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick has co-chaired Trump’s transition team.

“The moment is now ripe to launch a pro-capitalism wealth management business focused on true financial freedom, with a focus on integrating Bitcoin into standard portfolios,” Ramaswamy said in a statement, pointing to shifts in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attitudes.

With four days until Election Day, Ramaswamy’s firm is aligning itself with elements of a so-called Trump trade. Because the Republican candidate has made several overtures to crypto owners this year, analysts believe crypto prices could benefit from Trump’s reelection. In September, for example, analysts at Bernstein said Bitcoin could hit $90,000 if Trump wins the White House.

According to Fox Business, Strive is an “anti-woke” investment company, with other backers tied to the Republican ticket. Narya Capital, which invested in Strive’s Series B round, was co-founded by Trump running mate and Ohio Senator JD Vance in 2020.

Leveraging experience from the brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein, Strive said Gary Dorfman will helm Strive’s new business as president. Randol Curtis, formerly deputy chief investment officer at One Capital Management, will meanwhile serve as the business’s CIO.

Earlier this year, Ramaswamy spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville where Trump promised to turn America into a “Bitcoin superpower.” Prior to that, Ramaswamy said that he would implement a “comprehensive crypto policy framework” if elected commander-in-chief.

Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris adopted a pro-crypto stance, signaling that she would support a regulatory framework for digital assets. The pledge was predicted by Ramaswamy, who wrote on Twitter (aka X) in July after Trump’s speech in Nashville that she’ll be forced to come up with a “policy framework to pander to pro-crypto voters.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward