Strategy MSTR overtakes BlackRock IBIT with 815,061 Bitcoin holdings — institutional crypto milestone April 2026
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By Francesco Campisi profile image Francesco Campisi
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Strategy Overtakes BlackRock: 815,061 BTC and a Historic Milestone

Strategy now holds 815,061 BTC, overtaking BlackRock IBIT to become the world's largest institutional Bitcoin holder for the first time since Q2 2024.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) now holds 815,061 Bitcoin — more than any other institutional investor on Earth, including BlackRock. On April 20, 2026, the company confirmed it purchased 34,164 BTC between April 13 and 19 for approximately $2.54 billion at an average price of $74,395 per coin, reclaiming the top spot it last held in Q2 2024.

The Signal That Came Before the SEC Filing

TL;DR: Strategy bought 34,164 BTC in one week, pushing its total to 815,061 — surpassing BlackRock's IBIT by over 12,200 Bitcoin. Michael Saylor's firm now controls roughly 4% of all Bitcoin ever mined.

Before the official SEC filing landed, Michael Saylor posted three words on X: "Think even bigger." For anyone who has tracked Saylor's Bitcoin strategy since 2020, the message needed no explanation. Hours later, the filing confirmed the purchase — the third-largest single acquisition in Strategy's history.

The Numbers Behind the Overtake

At a cumulative cost of $61.56 billion and an average acquisition price of $75,527 per BTC, Strategy now controls approximately 4% of Bitcoin's total supply. That means one in every four Bitcoin in circulation belongs to a single Nasdaq-listed company. The key figures from the latest purchase:

  • BTC acquired in one week: 34,164 — third-largest single purchase in Strategy's history
  • Total cost: ~$2.54 billion (average $74,395/BTC)
  • BTC Yield YTD 2026: 9.5%
  • BTC Gain in first three weeks of April: ~$3.6 billion (47,079 BTC)
  • Funding split: 86% via STRC preferred shares, 14% via MSTR common shares

The STRC preferred share mechanism — paying an annualized dividend of 11.5% — has become the engine of Strategy's accumulation. Through this channel alone, Strategy accumulated nearly 80,000 BTC in 2026 alone, more than three times the Bitcoin that BlackRock's IBIT added despite $8.4 billion in Q1 inflows.

How Strategy Closed a 60,000-BTC Gap in Weeks

As recently as February 2026, BlackRock's IBIT held a lead of nearly 60,000 BTC. Strategy erased that gap not by slowing down, but by accelerating — buying aggressively through a period when Bitcoin fell 50% from its October 2025 highs. The move runs counter to the defensive playbook most institutional investors follow, but it is entirely consistent with the thesis Saylor has publicly defended since 2020.

Markets responded sharply: MSTR stock gained more than 11% in a single session on Wednesday, April 20. MSTR has returned +250% since January 2024, compared to +55% for BlackRock's IBIT over the same period. CEO Phong Le stated:

"In one week we increased BTC Gain by 82% to $4.97 billion. This reflects the reflexive power between appreciating digital capital and accretive digital credit."

Wall Street Is Running Toward Bitcoin

Strategy's overtake of BlackRock does not happen in isolation. In the same weeks, Morgan Stanley listed MSBT — the first Bitcoin spot ETF issued directly by a major US bank — while Goldman Sachs filed with the SEC for a monthly-coupon Bitcoin ETF. The picture emerging across institutional finance is one of an asset class that, within months, has stopped being treated as peripheral by the world's largest financial players.

Digital financial charts showing the comparison between Strategy MSTR and BlackRock IBIT Bitcoin holdings
Strategy vs BlackRock IBIT: the gap between the two largest sources of institutional Bitcoin demand reversed in April 2026.

Next Target: 1 Million BTC

Saylor has publicly declared his intention to reach 1 million BTC by end of 2026. With 815,061 already on the balance sheet, fewer than 185,000 remain to cross that threshold. At the current pace, projections from BitcoinTreasuries.NET suggest the milestone could arrive around November 2026, assuming STRC fundraising capacity of approximately $540 million per week is sustained.

The downside risk is documented and not hidden. Strategy's own investor presentations disclose that the company would begin selling Bitcoin if the market-cap-to-NAV ratio fell below 1.0 — the point at which MSTR is worth less than the Bitcoin it holds. That ratio hit its low in February 2026 and has only just climbed back above parity. The situation remains live.

For US and UK investors tracking institutional Bitcoin exposure, the divergence between retail sentiment and institutional accumulation behavior has rarely been this pronounced. Whether Saylor reaches 1 million BTC or encounters capital constraints along the way, the scale of Strategy's position now makes it a systemic variable in any serious Bitcoin market analysis.

How many Bitcoin does Strategy hold in 2026?

As of April 19, 2026, Strategy holds 815,061 BTC, acquired at a total cost of approximately $61.56 billion at an average price of $75,527 per Bitcoin.

Has Strategy overtaken BlackRock as the largest Bitcoin holder?

Yes. As of April 20, 2026, Strategy surpassed BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which holds 802,824 BTC, making Strategy the largest institutional Bitcoin holder in the world.

How does Strategy fund its Bitcoin purchases?

Strategy funds approximately 86% of its Bitcoin acquisitions through STRC preferred shares, which pay an annualized dividend of 11.5%, and the remaining 14% through MSTR common shares.

What is Strategy's Bitcoin target for 2026?

Michael Saylor has publicly stated a goal of reaching 1 million BTC by the end of 2026. BitcoinTreasuries.NET projects this milestone could be reached around November 2026 at the current accumulation pace.

By Francesco Campisi profile image Francesco Campisi
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