On March 5, 2026, the Wyoming State Treasurer announced the purchase of 250,000 shares of Strive Inc. through the state's Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund, making it the first state in the U.S. to directly invest public funds in a publicly traded company that primarily holds Bitcoin as a reserve asset. This investment, calculated at $14.28 per share, totals approximately $3.57 million. Although it represents a very small proportion of the fund's size, it carries significant symbolic meaning.
According to the HB 201 bill passed by the state legislature, Wyoming allows up to 3% of public funds to be allocated to Bitcoin-related assets. This purchase is only a small fraction of that limit and has been explicitly defined by officials as a strategic pilot aimed at exploring new asset allocation pathways rather than a large-scale deployment.
The choice of Strive over a Bitcoin spot ETF is based on its unique business model. Unlike ETFs that merely track Bitcoin prices, Strive is an asset management company that generates revenue from actual business operations while holding up to 13,132 Bitcoins (valued at over $1.1 billion as of early 2026), making it the tenth largest Bitcoin holder globally. The company finances through a structure called SATA, a type of perpetual preferred stock, and regularly distributes dividends to shareholders, providing both asset appreciation and income return.
This move is not an isolated event. Since 2017, Wyoming has enacted over 50 pieces of legislation related to digital assets, far surpassing other states. The state has also established a court of equity specifically for digital asset business and trust litigation, gradually building a complete legal ecosystem to support crypto enterprises. HB 201 is a natural extension of this long-term policy framework.
As a pioneer in U.S. crypto policy, Wyoming has successfully attracted a large number of crypto companies to register and establish operations. The entry of public funds into a Bitcoin reserve company further underscores its leading position in institutional innovation. Whether other states will follow suit will be a key observation point for the future of digital asset governance in the U.S.