Media: Bitcoin critic Vanguard invested over $9 billion in Strategy stocks

The investment company Vanguard, which considers bitcoin an "immature speculative asset," has become the largest institutional holder of Strategy shares. This was reported by Bloomberg.

The company owns a stake of nearly 8% worth $9.26 billion. It includes over 20 million securities. The largest package of 5.7 million shares is held in the Total Stock Market Index Fund (VITSX).

Vanguard owns 20 million shares of Strategy. Data: Bloomberg. Vanguard did not intentionally select Strategy shares. The purchase occurred automatically, as the company is part of various stock indices. Vanguard's passive funds are required to track their composition by purchasing the corresponding assets.

The investment firm's management has repeatedly stated its rejection of cryptocurrencies. The company called them "unsuitable" for long-term investors and refused to add spot Bitcoin ETFs to its platform.

"We do not believe this asset has a place in the portfolio," said former Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas called the situation ironic.

"God has a sense of humor. By choosing the path of index funds, Vanguard must own all the stocks, whether it likes them or not," he explained.

The founder of Strategy, Michael Saylor, considers the event a "powerful signal of growing institutional support for Bitcoin." In his opinion, this reflects the acceptance of digital gold as a reserve asset by the traditional financial community.

Strategy is the largest corporate holder of the first cryptocurrency. At the time of writing, the company owns 601,550 BTC.

Recall that TD Cowen raised the target price of Strategy shares from $590 to $680.