In less than two months since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlit 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the BTC ETFs managed by BlackRock have exceeded the total holdings of MicroStrategy, a software and cloud-based services company.
As of March 8, BlackRock’s IBIT holds 197,943 Bitcoin, valued at over $13.5 billion, according to data compiled by the research arm of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency products trading platform. Concurrently, Bitcoin surpassed the $70,000 threshold for the first time since its inception on January 9, 2009.
MicroStrategy, self-proclaimed as the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, now possesses approximately 193,000 Bitcoin following its acquisition of around 3,000 more BTC in February.
Earlier this year, the business intelligence firm announced its transition into a “Bitcoin development company.” Michael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, characterized this move as “natural,” citing the success of its Bitcoin strategy.
Recently, Saylor expressed a notably bullish outlook, asserting that banks will ultimately be compelled to offer Bitcoin as the world enters the “gold rush era” of the pioneering decentralized cryptocurrency. He highlighted that BTC has initiated a phase of “high growth institutional adoption,” fueled by increased interest in Bitcoin trades, particularly among major clients of the banking system.
Saylor predicted a decline in resistance to Bitcoin at this juncture, envisioning a future where Bitcoin surpasses gold in value and surpasses trade volume compared to S&P index ETFs.
The news of IBIT’s latest achievement coincided with a surge in institutional demand for cryptocurrencies, propelling greater interest in the crypto sector. Lark Davis, a prominent Bitcoin investor, noted on X (formerly Twitter) that over-the-counter (OTC) trading platforms are experiencing a shortage of Bitcoin.
