Strategy, the entity formerly known as MicroStrategy, acquired 34,164 bitcoin for approximately $2.54 billion at an average price of $74,395 per coin, according to a statement from executive chairman Michael Saylor posted April 20. The purchase brings Strategy’s total holdings to 815,061 BTC, acquired for a cumulative $61.56 billion at an average entry of $75,527.
That stack now exceeds BlackRock’s bitcoin position by more than 12,000 coins. BlackRock holds 802,823 BTC across its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and other vehicles, marking the first time Strategy has definitively overtaken the world’s largest asset manager in on-chain bitcoin custody.
The Accumulation Tempo
Strategy’s April buy follows a methodical cadence established over the past six months. The firm picked up 13,927 BTC for $1 billion on April 12 at $71,902 per coin, 4,871 BTC for $329.9 million on April 5 at $67,718, and 22,337 BTC for $1.57 billion on March 15 at $70,194. Earlier purchases in January and February saw higher per-coin costs, 22,305 BTC at $95,284 and 855 BTC at $87,974, respectively, reflecting bitcoin’s price swings through the first quarter.
By late 2025, Strategy was paying north of $90,000 per bitcoin. A December 14 acquisition of 10,645 BTC cost $980.3 million at $92,098 each; a week earlier, 10,624 BTC ran $962.7 million at $90,615. A November 16 buy of 8,178 BTC carried a $102,171 price tag, the highest single-purchase average disclosed in the source timeline.
BTC Yield and the Treasury Premium
Saylor cited a 9.5% BTC Yield year-to-date for 2026 as of April 19. That figure, a proprietary metric Strategy uses to measure accretive bitcoin acquisition relative to diluted share count, serves as the firm’s north star. It’s the delta between the percentage change in bitcoin holdings per diluted share and the percentage change in the stock’s market cap attributable to those holdings, a way to quantify whether equity and convertible issuance is worth the treasury expansion.
The April 20 disclosure doesn’t break out funding sources for the $2.54 billion outlay. Prior rounds leaned on at-the-market equity offerings, convertible senior notes, and preferred stock issuance, tools Strategy has refined into a revolving bitcoin acquisition engine. The firm’s cost basis sits $75,527 per coin against a spot market hovering in the low-to-mid $70,000 range, leaving the treasury underwater on a mark-to-market basis but immaterial to Saylor’s strategy, which treats bitcoin as a perpetual reserve asset rather than a trading position.
BlackRock’s 802,823 BTC reflects inflows into IBIT since its January 2024 launch, a product that attracted institutional allocators seeking regulated exposure without direct custody. Strategy’s 815,061 BTC lives on the balance sheet, a liability structure and conviction thesis BlackRock’s clients don’t share. One is a fiduciary vehicle; the other is a leveraged macro bet with a ticker.
