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5.47% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply is now locked up in corporate treasuries as public companies now hold 1.15 million Bitcoin on their balance sheets. A report published by Bitwise Asset Management showed that publicly traded companies added 50,351 BTC during the first quarter of 2026, which makes it a 4.6% increase quarter over quarter. This growth comes at one of the most chaotic stretches in recent market history, with the Iran conflict and the resultant energy supply shock bringing in a fresh wave of volatility across Bitcoin, crypto and traditional markets worldwide. 

Despite a strong quarter for corporate adoption of Bitcoin, when we look past the headline number alone, the picture becomes less convincing. The fact is, accumulation was not spread across evenly among several companies but rather heavily concentrated. 

Strategy Carried the Quarter 

Strategy added roughly 89,000 BTC in Q1 alone. The company now holds 818,334 BTC as of late April, acquired at an average cost of around $75,537 per coin. Michael Saylor kept buying every single week through the February crash, through the oil shock, through every red candle. Strategy reports its full Q1 earnings today (May 5) after already disclosing a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin holdings during the quarter, when BTC fell over 20% in its worst first-quarter performance since 2018.

Strategy now accounts for roughly 66% of all publicly held Bitcoin. 

Metaplanet Rose While MARA Retreated

The other notable mover in Q1 was Metaplanet. The Tokyo-listed firm acquired 5,075 BTC for approximately $400 million at an average price of about $79,900, pushing its total holdings to 40,177 BTC. That was enough to leapfrog MARA Holdings and claim the third-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury globally, behind Strategy and Twenty One Capital at 43,514 BTC.

MARA moved in the opposite direction. The miner sold 15,133 BTC between March 4 and March 25 for roughly $1.1 billion to manage debt obligations. It started the year with around 53,822 BTC and finished March at 38,689. MARA wasn’t the only miner offloading either. Publicly listed miners collectively sold more than 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, surpassing total miner sales for all of 2025.

Conviction VS Survival

The divergence between who was buying and who was selling in Q1 tells the real story behind the 1.15 million number. Strategy and Metaplanet were accumulating into extreme fear. Miners were liquidating to stay solvent. One side treated Bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset. The other treated it as a balance sheet liability that needed to be shed.

That split raises a question the market hasn’t fully priced in yet. Strategy alone holds over 818,000 BTC at an average cost just 4% below the current price. If BTC drops meaningfully below that basis, the company that carried Q1’s entire accumulation trend would be sitting on billions in unrealized losses with leveraged exposure. Corporate Bitcoin adoption is growing. But right now, it’s growing through one company’s conviction more than anything else.

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