With bitcoin (BTC) trading at a record high above $117,000, some of its largest institutional holders are sitting on massive gains — and show no sign of planning to cash out.
Strategy (MSTR), the software company turned bitcoin holding giant, owns nearly 600,000 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries.Net data, and has made an estimated $28 billion in unrealized profit at $117,464 price, data from Strategy Tracker shows. The company has spent more than $42 billion accumulating its stash, which makes it the third-largest bitcoin holder. Only the pseudonymous bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and asset manager BlackRock hold more.
However, BlackRock holds bitcoin on behalf of investors in its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which launched in January last year. Strategy, by contrast, holds the tokens on its balance sheet. The firm’s co-founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, has repeatedly said that he has no intention of ever selling. In fact, during BTC’s all-time high run yesterday, he gloated, “The halls of eternity echo with the cries of those who sold their Bitcoin,” in an X post.
And who can blame him? After all, his company’s BTC holdings far outpace those of every publicly traded company.
Other corporate bitcoin holders are also seeing their balances swell. Japanese firm Metaplanet (3350), which began aggressively accumulating BTC in 2024, now owns 15,555 coins worth roughly $1.83 billion. That translates to an unrealized profit of $284 million.
Meanwhile, El Salvador, the first nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, holds 6,234 BTC worth nearly $733 million at current prices. Its bitcoin bet has turned into a $232 million paper gain, a significant reversal from the losses it faced during the 2022 bear market.
Smaller firms are riding the rally too. Semler Scientific (SMLR), which followed Strategy’s treasury strategy last year, owns 4,636 BTC and sits on $160 million in unrealized gains. France’s Blockchain Group (ALTBG) holds 900 BTC, and still has $30.5 million in gains on paper.
While these companies could lock in massive profits by selling, most haven’t budged. In the bitcoin community, many of these holders are known as “maxis” — short for maximalists — who believe in holding the asset indefinitely. Some may take profits over time, but others, like Saylor, have stated publicly they plan to hold forever.