Despite its anti-crypto stance, Vanguard is now the biggest institutional backer of the world’s most aggressive Bitcoin holder.

Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment management firms, is now the biggest institutional shareholder of Strategy (MSTR) — Michael Saylor's company best known for adopting Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset.

According to data from investment research platform Intel, Vanguard has accumulated more than 20 million shares of MSTR, representing about 8% of MicroStrategy’s outstanding Class A common stock. The stake gives Vanguard indirect exposure to over 200,000 Bitcoin 

 held on Strategy’s balance sheet, representing a 26.3% jump between January and April 2025.

Many of Vanguard’s funds include exposure to the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which holds MicroStrategy as part of its broad US equity allocation. The stock also appears in dozens of Vanguard mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking mid-cap benchmarks.

Vanguard is a longstanding skeptic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Despite becoming Strategy’s largest institutional shareholder, the firm has consistently warned clients about crypto volatility and, unlike rivals, has refused to offer access to spot Bitcoin ETFs.