The artificial intelligence revolution is reshaping the global economy at breakneck speed. Dario Amodei, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, predicts that 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs could vanish within five years. Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Asset Management, goes further: roughly half of today's S&P 500 companies may disappear unless they hedge with bitcoin, mirroring the dot-com upheaval that saw over half of the index's 1990 components replaced by 2020.
Bitcoin as a Digital Safe Haven
In an interview with Bitcoin.com, Cole argued that now is the time for savvy executives to hedge against the most significant disruption of a generation using an asset already disrupting finance itself — bitcoin. “Our pitch to these companies is, look towards the future,” he said. “AI is an opportunity and a risk to your business, but if your business has a large risk, by putting bitcoin on your balance sheet, you actually hedge against that risk.” Strive Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is: the firm completed a $750 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction at the end of May, using the proceeds to acquire bitcoin.
From Beta to Alpha: Strive's Active Strategy
Unlike firms such as MicroStrategy that passively hold BTC (a beta strategy), Strive plans to overlay active management (alpha strategies) to amplify returns. “Most of the companies are actually focused on the beta side,” Cole explained. “We’re going to do the same things, but we’re also going to do alpha strategies.” He acknowledged the higher risk but emphasized Strive's unique team composition — a Venn diagram of Bitcoiners and biotech hedge fund experts — and his own track record managing a $70 billion fixed-income portfolio at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers).
Company Profile and Broader Vision
Strive Asset Management, co-founded by former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and beverage executive Anson Frericks, has carved a niche by rejecting DEI and ESG frameworks. The firm now manages roughly $2 billion in assets and has launched 13 exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Cole, who bought his first bitcoin in 2016, took over as CEO in 2023 when Ramaswamy shifted to politics. He is steering Strive toward a bitcoin-centric corporate treasury strategy, positioning the cryptocurrency as a direct hedge against AI-driven disruption.