Strategy (MSTR), now has more bitcoins 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 on record, acquiring 34,164 BTC and bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC.
IBIT currently holds 802,824 BTC, leaving Strategy ahead with over 12,000 BTC. While the gap is not at all significant in relative terms, it is symbolically important given IBIT’s rapid growth since its launch. IBIT became the fastest ETF in history to reach $70 billion in assets, while IBIT ranks among BlackRock’s top revenue drivers.
Strategy had 189,150 BTC at the start of Q1 2024. IBIT overtook it at the start of Q2 with about 273,000 BTC, compared to Strategy’s 214,400 BTC, a lead it has consistently held until now.
However, the two vehicles are fundamentally different. Strategy is an operating company that uses financial engineering, including ATM, convertible debt, and perpetual preferred securities, to accumulate bitcoins in a leveraged manner. IBIT, by contrast, is a spot ETF designed to passively track the price of bitcoin, offering investors direct exposure without leverage or corporate risk.
IBIT has gained around 55% since its listing in January 2024, while Strategy has risen approximately 250%, driven by its leveraged structure.
Notably, Strategy accelerated accumulation during the recent market downturn, as bitcoin fell more than 50% from its October all-time high, while adding nearly 80,000 BTC in 2026.
The perpetual preferred stock STRC has been a key differentiator for Strategy, providing a scalable source of capital that has funded a significant portion of its recent bitcoin accumulation.
Meanwhile, IBIT holdings remained relatively stable, with only a modest decline in assets under management.
