Strategy Marks Five Years of Bitcoin Adoption

TLDR

• Strategy allocated $250 million for over 21,000 BTC in 2020.
• Company’s Bitcoin holdings valued at approximately $75 billion by mid-2025.
• Public companies with Bitcoin holdings increased from 60 to 160 since 2020.

Strategy’s Bitcoin Adoption Milestone

Five years ago, on August 11, 2020, Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset. This decision marked one of the earliest and largest corporate allocations to Bitcoin. Michael Saylor, the company’s then-CEO and now Executive Chairman, spearheaded this strategic shift.

Michael Saylor’s role as a Bitcoin advocate and technology entrepreneur played a significant part in this decision. Strategy’s move has since influenced broader corporate and institutional adoption. Saylor remains a prominent figure in the company and the cryptocurrency space.

Key Financial Moves

In August 2020, Strategy made an initial allocation of $250 million, buying over 21,000 BTC. The company continued to accumulate Bitcoin in the following years. By mid-2025, its total holdings had a market value of approximately $75 billion.

Strategy’s stock, with the ticker symbol MSTR, has seen a cumulative return of over 1,000% since the Bitcoin strategy was announced, vastly outperforming most U.S. equities. This growth illustrates the strong market performance associated with the company’s Bitcoin-focused strategy.

Impact on Bitcoin and Institutional Holdings

Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings represent nearly 3% of the circulating supply as of August 2025. This significant allocation has led to occasional supply constraints and liquidity shifts in the Bitcoin market, often coinciding with major purchase announcements.

Michael Saylor previously stated, “On August 10, 2020, when we announced our $250 million bitcoin buy, since then, bitcoin is up 72%… it is still the best performing asset the company could have chosen.” The company’s aggressive accumulation has set a precedent for other corporations.

Corporate Adoption Trends

Since Strategy’s initial move, the number of public companies with Bitcoin holdings has grown from about 60 to 160. This trend highlights Strategy’s influence on the corporate Bitcoin adoption landscape. Metaplanet’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, commented, “It cannot be underestimated what a positive impact Michael Saylor and the Strategy team have had on corporate Bitcoin adoption worldwide, including inspiring our own journey.”

Regulatory and Community Response

No direct statements have been issued by government regulators, such as the SEC or CFTC, to mark this anniversary. However, Strategy’s filings remain compliant with U.S. securities regulations, and its BTC allocation continues to be referenced in corporate governance and public market filings. The company’s compliance efforts are well-documented in its SEC filings.

The broader community and corporate Bitcoin advocates are celebrating the five-year anniversary. Discussions on platforms like Twitter praise Saylor’s risk-taking and the substantial returns to shareholders. Despite some criticism from traditional finance sectors regarding the concentrated investment in a single asset, the milestone remains significant in the crypto landscape.