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who buys bitcoin

The biggest institutional bitcoin buyers

From Michael Saylor's Strategy to BlackRock's ETF: who holds the largest amounts of bitcoin, what do those businesses actually do, and what does continued buying mean against a supply fixed at 21 million? Every figure below carries the date it was reported and its source. No forecasts, no investment advice.

Listed companies holding BTC
178

Across 30 countries, as of 1 September 2026.

BTC on corporate balance sheets
1,284,215

About 6.1% of the 21 million that will ever exist, ~$100bn at the time. 1 September 2026.

Strategy's share of that total
65.8%

The five largest together hold 77.6%. 1 September 2026.

BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
$60.2bn

Net assets on 1 September 2026, in a single-holding fund launched 5 January 2024. Sponsor fee 0.25%.

The ranking: ten largest corporate holders

Ranked on the last reported BTC holdings. These figures change with every purchase and every filing.

Reported BTC per holder

Strategy is so large that everyone else disappears on a plain axis. Switch the scale to see it yourself.

source: company reporting and bitcointreasuries.net, dated per holder

Compare for yourself: filter and sort

sort
  • Strategy843,775 BTC · 4.018% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Twenty One Capital43,514 BTC · 0.207% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Metaplanet43,000 BTC · 0.205% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Mara Holdings36,303 BTC · 0.173% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Bullish24,300 BTC · 0.116% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Strive19,921 BTC · 0.095% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • SpaceX18,712 BTC · 0.089% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Coinbase Global16,492 BTC · 0.079% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Riot Platforms15,680 BTC · 0.075% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • CleanSpark13,924 BTC · 0.066% of 21M · 2026-07-25
  • Tesla11,509 BTC · 0.055% of 21M · 2026-03-31
  • Block, Inc.9,117 BTC · 0.043% of 21M · 2026-06-30

selection combined: 1,096,247 BTC · 5.22% of 21 million

  1. #1

    Strategy

    MSTRtreasury company
    843,775 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Michael Saylor, Executive chairman, co-founder

    Formerly MicroStrategy, a Nasdaq-listed business-intelligence software company. Since 2020 its defining activity is issuing debt and equity and converting the proceeds into bitcoin, which is why the share price now trades largely as a leveraged bet on bitcoin.

    Saylor started buying in 2020 with the argument that cash on a corporate balance sheet loses purchasing power over time. In 2026 the company dropped its long-standing 'never sell' framing, a change reported at the time, and a reminder that corporate policy is not a promise.

  2. #2

    Twenty One Capital

    XXItreasury company
    43,514 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    A listed vehicle built from the start as a pure bitcoin treasury: its purpose is holding bitcoin per share rather than running an operating business.

    Pure-treasury vehicles exist because many funds and retirement accounts may buy listed shares but not bitcoin itself. Note the risk shows up in the share price: XXI shares fell 47.9% year-to-date as of 25 July 2026.

  3. #3

    Metaplanet

    MPJPYtreasury company
    43,000 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Simon Gerovich, CEO

    A Tokyo-listed company that converted itself into a bitcoin treasury, and the largest corporate holder outside the United States.

    It shows the model is not only American: the corporate census now spans 30 countries, even though the United States still accounts for 86.8% of all corporate bitcoin.

  4. #4

    Mara Holdings

    MARAminer
    36,303 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    One of the largest listed bitcoin miners. It earns bitcoin by producing blocks and keeps a large part of what it mines instead of selling it.

    Miners with a retained-earnings policy accumulate without buying on an exchange. Their bitcoin is a by-product of the security they provide to the network.

  5. #5

    Bullish

    BLSHexchange / custodian
    24,300 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    An institutional digital-asset exchange and trading venue that holds bitcoin on its own balance sheet.

    Exchanges hold inventory to run markets. That is a different motive from a treasury: it is working capital, not a long-term savings decision.

  6. #6

    Strive

    ASSTtreasury company
    19,921 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    An asset manager turned bitcoin treasury company; among the most active buyers of 2026, moving up the ranking with purchases such as 1,800 BTC reported in a single week.

    Newer entrants compete on how fast they can add bitcoin per share, which is why weekly purchase announcements have become a marketing instrument in themselves.

  7. #7

    SpaceX

    SPCXoperating business
    18,712 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Elon Musk, Founder, CEO

    Launch and satellite company; listed on Nasdaq on 12 June 2026. Bitcoin sits on the balance sheet of a business whose actual work has nothing to do with it.

    This is the 'operating business with bitcoin on the balance sheet' model: reserves held in bitcoin instead of only cash, without the company becoming a bitcoin vehicle.

  8. #8

    Coinbase Global

    COINexchange / custodian
    16,492 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Brian Armstrong, Co-founder, CEO

    The largest listed US exchange and a custodian for many institutional bitcoin products. Its own corporate holdings are separate from the customer bitcoin it safeguards.

    Custody is the quiet part of institutional adoption: most institutions never touch a key themselves, which concentrates a great deal of bitcoin with a handful of custodians.

  9. #9

    Riot Platforms

    RIOTminer
    15,680 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Listed bitcoin miner and data-centre operator. Its shares were up 73% year-to-date on 25 July 2026, while pure treasury stocks fell.

    The 2026 split between rallying miners and punished treasuries is a useful lesson: holding bitcoin and having a business that earns money are not the same thing.

  10. #10

    CleanSpark

    CLSKminer
    13,924 BTCas reported on 2026-07-25

    Listed miner that retains a large share of the bitcoin it produces rather than selling to cover costs.

    Retaining production means the company carries price risk in exchange for a lower average cost than buying on the market.

Well-known names just outside the top ten

Two positions from 2020–2021 that come up constantly, and that show why cost basis matters more than size.

  1. #11

    Tesla

    TSLAoperating business
    11,509 BTCas reported on 2026-03-31

    Elon Musk, CEO

    Car and energy manufacturer. It deployed about $1.5 billion into bitcoin in early 2021, sold roughly 75% of that position in Q2 2022, and has left the remaining 11,509 BTC untouched since, including through the 22% drop in Q1 2026.

    Cost basis decides everything. Tesla's remaining stack cost roughly $386–387 million, so the position stays profitable while later corporate buyers sit on unrealised losses.

  2. #12

    Block, Inc.

    XYZoperating business
    9,117 BTCas reported on 2026-06-30

    Jack Dorsey, Founder, CEO

    Payments company behind Square and Cash App. Corporate holdings were 9,117 BTC at 30 June 2026 (up from 8,883 BTC at end-2025, after buying 234 BTC in the first half of 2026), with a fair value of about $533.9 million against a $310.2 million cost basis. It also custodies roughly 19,357 BTC for customers, that is not company money.

    Dorsey's company buys small amounts steadily rather than in headline-sized blocks, and builds bitcoin payment and mining products around the position.

And the banks and funds?

Large financial institutions usually do not put bitcoin on their own balance sheet; they package it for clients. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) reported net assets of $60,225,495,665 on 1 September 2026, with exactly one holding: bitcoin. The fund launched on 5 January 2024 and charges 0.25% a year. A fund like that earns fees, not a view on price, the bitcoin sits with a custodian on behalf of shareholders.

What do you think?

There is no single motive. Pick yours and read which figures support or undercut it.

Why do you think these companies, funds and banks buy bitcoin?

Pick what you think. Your answer stays in your browser, nothing is stored.

If they keep buying: what does that do to bitcoin?

Mechanics and measured facts only. We do not forecast prices, anyone who does is selling you something.

Calculator: continued buying against a fixed supply

Set a buying pace and a horizon yourself. The output is pure arithmetic on the issuance schedule: about 450 BTC arrive per day now, and roughly 225 after the ~2028 halving. This is not a price forecast.

buying per month15,000 BTC
horizon48 months
held after the horizon
1,816,247 BTC
share of coins in circulation
8.90%
share of new issuance
110%

Starting point: 1,096,247 BTC across the holders on this page, against roughly 19,940,000 coins mined. Above 100% of new issuance, the pace can only be sustained by buying coins from existing holders, not out of fresh blocks.

  • New supply is small and shrinking

    Since the 2024 halving each block pays 3.125 BTC, so roughly 450 BTC per day is created, about 164,000 per year, and that halves again around 2028. A single announced purchase of a few thousand BTC is therefore several days of global new issuance. Buyers who want more than that have to buy from existing holders, at whatever price convinces them to sell.

  • Price is set by the marginal seller, not by the size of the stack

    It is tempting to conclude that constant buying must mean a higher price. 2026 disproves the simple version: corporate holdings kept rising while bitcoin fell from around $90,000 in January to roughly $68,000 by the end of March. Accumulation and price move on different clocks.

  • Concentration is the real change

    One company holds 65.8% of all corporate bitcoin, and the five largest hold 77.6%. Most institutions never hold their own keys but use a handful of custodians. That means fewer, bigger decision-makers whose forced selling, margin calls, redemptions, a change of policy, can hit the market at once.

  • 'Never sell' is a policy, not a rule of the protocol

    Strategy abandoned its long-held never-sell framing in 2026, and Tesla had already sold roughly 75% of its position in 2022. Corporate demand can reverse; the 21 million cap cannot. That is exactly why the protocol rules matter more to a saver than any company's press release.

  • It does not give them control of the network

    Owning bitcoin is not the same as governing bitcoin. Rules change only when the nodes people run enforce them, as the August 2026 BIP-110 split showed, a proposal with capital and hashrate behind it can still fail. Balance-sheet size buys coins, not consensus.

How to read this page

Every count comes from company reporting or dated coverage and is true as of the date given, not today. A large company buying bitcoin is not a recommendation for you: their horizon, cost basis, debt and obligations differ completely from an individual's. This is education, not investment advice.

Sources