Strategy Inc (MSTR) has officially overtaken BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) as the world’s largest institutional Bitcoin (BTC) holder.
On April 20, 2026, Strategy’s Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed that the company acquired 34,164 BTC between April 13 and April 19 at an average price of $74,395 per coin. Having spent $2.54 billion raised through its at-the-market equity offerings, Strategy increased its holdings to 815,061 Bitcoins, valued at about $61.14 billion at press time.
On the other hand, BlackRock’s IBIT held 802,823.45 BTC as of April 17, with a market value of approximately $60.22 billion. Last week, IBIT recorded a total cash inflow of $906.09 million, as Finbold reported, thereby increasing its Bitcoin holdings by around 11,000 coins.
Notably, BlackRock could have lost its position as the leader in Bitcoin holdings, potentially, due to its increased stake in MSTR rather than buying its IBIT shares. Furthermore, BlackRock reported a stake of 14.61 million shares in Strategy, valued at approximately $2.39 billion as of December 31, 2025, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
Why are Bitcoin investors focused on Strategy over spot ETFs?
Strategy emerged as the preferred vehicle for Bitcoin exposure because investors stand to gain more compared to simply holding through IBIT. Essentially, Strategy’s year-to-date BTC Yield of 9.5% indicates that its equity-financed accumulation strategy was generating higher returns per share.
“Strategy is proposing to pay semi-monthly dividends on STRC, instead of monthly. No change to the annual dividend obligations or dividend rate. These proposed changes are intended to stabilize price, dampen cyclicality, drive liquidity, and grow demand,” Michael Saylor, founder and Chairman at Strategy, recently stated.
As such, Strategy has attracted more capital from top institutional investors, including several major investment firms and banks. Some of the top backers of Strategy include Vanguard Group Inc, Capital International Investors, BlackRock, Capital Research Global Investors, State Street Corporation, UBS Group AG, Amundi, Geode Capital Management LLC, and Bank of America Corporation.
