Biggest US Banks Place Quiet Big Bets On Bitcoin’s Largest Corporate Holder MSTR

Summary:

BlackRock, Bank of America, and Fidelity have all massively increased their holdings of MicroStrategy stock, Bitcoin’s largest corporate holder.Buying MSTR seems to be a path to BTC exposure rather than directly buying crypto’s top coin.Canada’s sixth largest bank has also spent a considerable amount buying MicroStrategy stock in 2023.The appetite for MSTR shares comes at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on crypto activity in America.

Major banks and Financial Institutions in the U.S. seem to be increasing their exposure to Bitcoin by accumulating massive positions of MicroStrategy shares, the same company that is currently the largest corporate holder of BTC with coffers worth over $3 billion at current prices.

Three giants in particular – BlackRock, Bank of America, and Fidelity have spent a combined $200+ million buying MicroStrategy’s MSTR.

Bank of America, the 2nd largest bank in the U.S. worth over $200 billion and with over $3 trillion in assets under management (AUM), spent $59.5 million solidifying its 2.3% stake in Michael Saylor’s company.

Fidelity with its $4.5 trillion AUM portfolio splurged over $25 million securing a 1% stake in MSTR while Canada’s sixth largest financial house, The National Bank of Canada spent over half a million dollars buying MicroStrategy shares this year.

Perhaps the most eye-catching MSTR buyer with over $150 million worth of shares is the world’s largest asset manager with $10 trillion in AUM – BlackRock. BlackRock boasts a massive 6% stake in MicroStrategy. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, recent reports from CoinDesk say that BlackRock plans to file a Bitcoin ETF.

Notably, the U.S. SEC has historically denied Bitcoin ETF applications previously submitted by companies like Grayscale. It’s unclear if BlackRock might succeed where others have failed.

MSTR Offers Bitcoin Exposure 

It’s possible that U.S. banking and financial giants are aping in on MSTR stock since the company holds Bitcoin, and thus, offers exposure to crypto’s leading coin by market cap. Indeed, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin at press time with over 140,000 BTC worth more than $3 billion at today’s prices. 

Apart from leading the crypto industry as the top coin by market cap, Bitcoin sits on a short list of digital assets not considered an unregistered security by the SEC. 

Analysis and predictions from several stakeholders, including the $700 billion-strong Standard Chartered agree that BTC will leap in value by 2024. This possibly makes BTC an alluring investment for America’s biggest institutions with MSTR offering a regulated way for these banks to hold Bitcoin.

Bitcoin traded around $25,000 on Thursday after falling in price amid a broader crypto market downturn that followed the SEC’s enforcement actions against Binance and Coinbase.