It’s been a difficult period for Bitcoin (BTC +1.18%) ever since it reached an all-time high of $126,198.07 in October 2025. Right now, the world’s top cryptocurrency trades almost 40% off that record (as of April 23).
But in the past two months, Bitcoin has proven its worth. Since the current Iran war started on Feb. 28, the digital asset’s price has risen 19%, outperforming both the S&P 500 index and gold.
While this is just a small sample size, it supports the argument that this cryptocurrency belongs in portfolios. Institutional investors are leading the next wave of adoption by adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.
Image source: Getty Images.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy is now the biggest Bitcoin hodler
When it comes to institutional Bitcoin owners, no entity beats Strategy (MSTR 0.84%). Through unique financial engineering tactics, this company raises capital from equity and fixed-income markets to acquire more of the cryptocurrency. It owns a whopping 815,061 Bitcoin units, valued at nearly $64 billion, on its balance sheet. Saylor is a notable long-term hodler of this important cryptocurrency.
Michael Saylor, the billionaire technology entrepreneur who transformed Strategy from a software enterprise into a Bitcoin treasury company, believes the cryptocurrency is the best asset to own in the face of fiat currencies being constantly debased. Bitcoin’s scarce supply limit of 21 million units is a very compelling feature. Plus, its impressive long-term performance is hard to overlook.
Other notable publicly traded companies that hold Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets are Coinbase, Tesla, and Block. Should Bitcoin’s price continue to appreciate, other businesses will follow.
Today’s Change
(1.18%) $914.68
Current Price
$78441.00
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$1.6T
Day’s Range
$77352.00 – $78411.00
52wk Range
$60255.56 – $126079.89
Volume
21B
Financial companies are driven by the incentive to make more money
The Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), launched more than two years ago in January 2024, have been an extremely successful product introduction in the financial services industry. With under $64 billion in net assets, BlackRock‘s iShares Bitcoin Trust is the dominant offering in the market.
Activity hasn’t calmed down. Earlier in April, Morgan Stanley launched its own ETF, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust. After 13 trading days, it has amassed $163 million in net assets.
Generating more revenue is the primary goal of these ETF sponsors. As they realize that their clients demand access to Bitcoin, they are incentivized to create these investment vehicles that can rake in fee income.
The ETFs provide a frictionless and regulatory-friendly way for allocators to gain Bitcoin exposure. The iShares Bitcoin Trust is owned by numerous investment firms, including Jane Street and Brevan Howard Capital Management. Even Harvard University’s endowment fund owns this ETF. Of course, individual investors have access, too.
These investment managers and individuals are obviously after the huge returns that Bitcoin can possibly provide. They also see the digital asset as a tool for portfolio diversification.
It’s becoming clear, however, that institutions are driving Bitcoin adoption now.
