Strategy (MSTR), now holds more bitcoin than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) for the first time since Q2 2024.
The world’s largest publicly traded BTC holder recently announced its third-largest bitcoin purchase ever, acquiring 34,164 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC.
IBIT currently has 802,824 BTC, putting Strategy ahead by more than 12,000 BTC. While the gap is not meaningful in relative terms, it is symbolically important given IBIT’s rapid growth since launch. IBIT became the fastest ETF in history to reach $70 billion in assets, while IBIT is among BlackRock’s biggest revenue drivers.
Strategy had 189,150 BTC at the start of 1. quarter 2024. IBIT surpassed it with the beginning of 2. quarter with around 273,000 BTC compared to Strategy’s 214,400 BTC, a lead it consistently maintained until now.
However, the two vehicles are fundamentally different. Strategy is an operating company that uses financial engineering including issuance of shares on the market (ATM), convertible debt and perpetual preferred securities to accumulate bitcoin in a leveraged manner. IBIT, on the other hand, is a spot ETF designed to passively track bitcoin’s price, offering investors outright exposure without leverage or corporate risk.
IBIT is up around 55% since its IPO in January 2024, while the strategy is up around 250%, driven by its leveraged structure.
Notably, the strategy accelerated accumulation during the recent market downturn, when bitcoin fell over 50% from its October peak while adding nearly 80,000 BTC by 2026.
Perpetual preferred stock STRC has been a key strategy differentiator, providing a scalable source of capital that has funded a significant portion of its recent bitcoin accumulation.
Meanwhile, IBIT’s portfolio remained relatively stable with only a modest decline in assets under management.
