Strategy, the business intelligence firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, has surpassed BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust to become the largest publicly traded company holding Bitcoin. The firm acquired 34,164 BTC between April 13 and 19, spending $2.54 billion at an average price of $74,395 per coin. Total holdings now stand at 815,061 BTC, valued at approximately $61.5 billion at current market prices, edging past BlackRock’s 802,823 BTC.
Perpetual preferred stock is a type of equity instrument that pays fixed dividends indefinitely with no maturity date, giving issuers a way to raise capital without a repayment deadline. Strategy funded 86% of the purchase through its STRC perpetual preferred shares and the remaining 14% via MSTR common stock, avoiding conventional debt financing entirely.
- Strategy bought 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion (April 13–19), its third-largest purchase on record and the biggest weekly buy since November 2024.
- Total holdings hit 815,061 BTC (~$61.5B), passing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (802,823 BTC) for the first time.
- The purchase was 86% financed by perpetual preferred stock (STRC), with no traditional debt used.
- Bitcoin climbed to $77,500 on April 22 as the acquisition, a $2.54B ETF inflow week, and Trump’s Iran ceasefire extension combined to lift sentiment.
Published: April 22, 2026
Why this purchase matters
Strategy has added roughly 80,000 BTC to its reserves since the start of 2026, buying consistently through Bitcoin’s 50% price decline from late-2025 peaks. This is not a hedge or an allocation — it is the company’s core operating strategy. By acquiring at scale during drawdowns, Strategy has established itself as the primary institutional demand source in the current cycle.
Overtaking BlackRock is more than symbolic. The iShares Bitcoin Trust holds Bitcoin on behalf of ETF shareholders, meaning those coins are effectively pledged to external investors and can be redeemed. Strategy owns its 815,061 BTC outright on its corporate balance sheet, with no redemption pressure. The ownership structure is fundamentally different — and arguably more sticky as a market force.
Since early 2026, Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted $1.29 billion in net inflows during the most recent week alone, indicating that institutional appetite is broad, not concentrated in a single vehicle. Strategy’s purchase sits on top of that demand, not instead of it.
Market impact and what comes next
Bitcoin rose to approximately $77,500 on April 22, up 2.2% over 24 hours. Three factors converged: Strategy’s announced acquisition, $1.29 billion in recent ETF inflows, and President Trump’s extension of the Iran ceasefire deadline, which reduced near-term geopolitical risk in energy markets. Each of these would have moved Bitcoin independently. Together, they pushed the asset back toward the $77,000–$78,000 resistance band it tested earlier in April.
The debate now centers on sustainability. Critics, including longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff, have argued that Bitcoin’s price support is coming from aggressive institutional buying rather than organic retail demand. That critique has merit as a structural observation — but it assumes institutional demand is inherently fragile, which the inflow data does not support. Strategy alone has bought through a 50% drawdown without pausing.
The next question is whether other corporate treasuries follow. Charles Schwab launched direct spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for retail and advisory clients on April 16, embedding crypto access into an $11.9 trillion asset management platform. As spot Bitcoin becomes easier to buy within mainstream brokerage accounts, the marginal buyer pool expands. That pressure will land on a market where the largest single corporate holder just added $2.5 billion in a single week.
How Strategy funded the purchase
Strategy’s financing approach is worth understanding. The firm issued perpetual preferred stock (STRC) to cover 86% of the $2.54 billion acquisition, using MSTR common equity for the remainder. Perpetual preferred shares pay a fixed dividend with no maturity obligation, which means Strategy takes on ongoing income obligations rather than a repayment schedule. The structure avoids the debt covenants and maturity cliffs that caused problems for leveraged crypto firms in 2022.
This approach has allowed Strategy to accumulate Bitcoin at scale without triggering forced liquidations during price declines. Whether that model remains viable at 815,000+ BTC depends on whether the preferred dividends remain serviceable as Bitcoin’s volatility continues. So far, the firm has maintained the structure through multiple market cycles.
FAQ
Yes. As of April 20, 2026, Strategy holds 815,061 BTC versus BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at 802,823 BTC. The key distinction is that Strategy owns Bitcoin directly on its corporate balance sheet, while BlackRock holds it as custodian for ETF shareholders who can redeem their shares.
Primarily through capital markets instruments rather than traditional debt. This latest $2.54 billion purchase was funded 86% via perpetual preferred stock (STRC) and 14% via common equity (MSTR). The company has not taken on conventional bank loans to fund Bitcoin acquisitions since restructuring its treasury strategy in 2020.
Strategy’s purchases remove Bitcoin from the liquid market and place it in long-term corporate reserves, tightening supply. Combined with rising ETF inflows and new spot trading platforms entering the market, the structural demand picture for Bitcoin has shifted materially compared to 2023 and 2024.
