Strategy has overtaken BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust to become the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin (BTC) in the world. The shift marks the first time a corporate treasury has held more Bitcoin than any exchange-traded fund since IBIT launched in January 2024.
How the Shift Happened
Strategy, the world's largest corporate owner of Bitcoin, now holds 815,061 BTC valued at $62.35 billion. By contrast, the iShares Bitcoin Trust holds 802,824 BTC, putting Strategy ahead by more than 12,000 tokens.
BlackRock's IBIT held the top institutional position for roughly two years. It launched in January 2024 alongside a wave of US spot Bitcoin ETF approvals. Inflows into IBIT were aggressive throughout 2024 and into early 2025. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, pursued a parallel accumulation path funded through equity and debt issuance.
The company has purchased Bitcoin across dozens of separate tranches since August 2020. Sustained buying through 2025 and early 2026 pushed its total holdings past IBIT's balance.
Also Read: CLARITY Act Hits New Wall As Tillis Signals May Markup Over Yield Deal
What the Numbers Show
Bitcoin trades at approximately $75,147 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. Strategy's total holdings have not been restated in a fresh filing within this scan window. The exact gap between Strategy and BlackRock's IBIT balance has not been independently confirmed by a primary filing. Market observers have tracked the narrowing spread across quarterly filings and public disclosures throughout 2025.
The milestone is notable for a second reason. It validates a corporate treasury model that most institutional analysts dismissed as reckless in 2020. No other public company has replicated the strategy at comparable scale.
ETF vs Corporate Treasury Models
BlackRock's IBIT accumulates Bitcoin on behalf of fund investors. Its balance rises and falls with net inflows and redemptions. Strategy's holdings are a permanent balance sheet item. The company does not redeem Bitcoin on demand. That structural difference means Strategy's position is structurally stickier than an ETF's. A wave of IBIT redemptions could close the gap quickly. A sustained outflow period would widen it further.
The broader institutional market holds Bitcoin across ETFs, closed-end funds, and corporate treasuries. Combined, these vehicles now hold a substantial fraction of Bitcoin's total 21-million coin supply. Strategy and BlackRock together account for a large portion of that institutional float.
What Comes Next
Strategy has not announced a cap on its Bitcoin acquisition program. Equity and convertible note markets have continued to fund purchases at scale. BlackRock's IBIT remains the dominant retail-accessible Bitcoin vehicle in the US. Its total assets under management still dwarf Strategy's equity market capitalisation. The ranking by raw Bitcoin count, however, now sits with Strategy.
Read Next: Bitcoin ETF Demand Fuels $1.4B Weekly Inflow, Second-Best Since January