Vanguard, managing over $10 trillion in assets, has become the top institutional shareholder of MicroStrategy (MSTR) with over 20 million shares—nearly 8% of its Class A stock—despite the firm's longstanding public dismissal of Bitcoin as "speculative" and lacking "inherent economic value." This $9 billion stake, acquired through passive index funds, positions Vanguard above Capital Group as MSTR's largest holder.
The development starkly contradicts Vanguard's vocal skepticism. Executives have consistently labeled Bitcoin an "immature asset class" unsuitable for long-term portfolios and refused to offer Bitcoin ETFs. However, index fund mechanics compelled the investment since MSTR meets market-cap and listing criteria for major indices.
MicroStrategy holds over 601,550 BTC, making it a de facto Bitcoin proxy. Analysts like VanEck's Matthew Sigel call the situation "institutional dementia," highlighting tensions between passive investing mandates and active ideological stances. Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas noted, "When you have an index fund, you have to own all the stocks... including those you may not approve of personally."