Public companies now hold approximately 1.27 million BTC — 6.2% of the fixed 21 million supply — up from 1.16 million in April 2026. The 197 firms running Bitcoin balance-sheet strategies collectively control roughly $107 billion in digital assets. Strategy alone accounts for two-thirds of that t...
"Traditional metrics like Bitcoin Per Share overstate what common shareholders actually own by ignoring senior claims from debt and preferred stock." — Bobby Tierney, Creator of CEBE Tracker
Public companies now hold approximately 1.27 million BTC — 6.2% of the fixed 21 million supply — up from 1.16 million in April 2026. The 197 firms running Bitcoin balance-sheet strategies collectively control roughly $107 billion in digital assets. Strategy alone accounts for two-thirds of that total, holding 848,000 BTC.
The asset class is no longer small. But the vehicles built around it are fracturing. Between October 2025 and mid-2026, Bitcoin fell 49.8% from its $126,200 peak to a $63,408 trough. Half of all public Bitcoin treasury companies dropped below a 1.0× modified net asset value (mNAV), meaning their stock market capitalizations fell below the spot value of the Bitcoin they hold. As of October 6, 2026, with BTC trading near $86,100, the field remains split: Strategy (1.06×) and Strive (1.67×) hold premiums; Metaplanet (0.80×) and Twenty One Capital (0.62× basic) trade at discounts.
The divergence is not random. It tracks directly to capital structure. Companies that financed Bitcoin purchases through equity dilution and option-pool expansion destroyed per-share value. Those that layered preferred stock and convertible instruments above common equity concentrated residual upside — but also introduced subordination risk that the market is only now learning to price.
As of the first week of October 2026, the top corporate Bitcoin holders rank as follows:
| Rank | Company | Ticker | BTC Held | Avg. Cost/BTC | mNAV | |------|---------|--------|----------|---------------|------| | 1 | Strategy | MSTR | 848,000 | $75,441 | 1.06× | | 2 | Metaplanet | 3350.T | 44,000 | ~$70,000* | 0.80× | | 3 | Twenty One Capital | XXI | 43,514 | ~$84,900 | 0.62× | | 4 | MARA Holdings | MARA | 35,303 | ~$60,000* | 1.55× | | 5 | Strive | ASST | ~29,500 | $91,215 | 1.67× |
*Estimated based on available reporting data. BTC price at time of publication: ~$86,100.
Strategy's 848,000 BTC position represents 4.04% of the total 21 million cap. No other firm holds more than 0.25%. The concentration is extreme: the next four largest holders combined control roughly 152,300 BTC — less than one-fifth of Strategy's stack.
The Bitcoin treasury model depends on a reflexive loop. A company buys Bitcoin. Its stock price rises above the value of its holdings (the mNAV premium). It issues equity at the premium. It uses the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin. The BTC-per-share metric rises, validating the premium, enabling more issuance.
This flywheel worked during the 2024 rally, when Strategy traded at nearly 4× mNAV. It broke during the 2025-2026 correction. According to data compiled by bitcointreasuries.net, when Bitcoin peaked at $126,200 on October 6, 2025 and subsequently fell to $63,408 by late July 2026, roughly half of all public Bitcoin treasury companies fell below 1.0× mNAV.
The September 2026 landscape showed fragmentation. According to mnav.com data from September 24, 2026: Twenty One Capital, Metaplanet, and Nakamoto Holdings traded below 1.0× mNAV, while Strategy (1.13×) and Strive (1.42×) maintained premiums. By early October, Strategy's premium had compressed further to 1.06×.
The implications are structural, not cyclical. When mNAV drops below 1.0×, the issuance machine breaks. Selling equity at a discount to Bitcoin NAV dilutes existing shareholders without adding proportional BTC value. The company cannot grow its way out. It can only wait for Bitcoin to rise — or find non-dilutive capital sources.
The 2026 correction exposed a critical distinction: the method of financing matters more than the amount of Bitcoin purchased.
Treasury companies use three primary funding mechanisms:
1. Common Equity Issuance (ATM programs): Direct dilution. Each new share reduces every existing shareholder's claim on the Bitcoin reserve. Strategy sold 3.46 million shares in a single week in August 2026.
2. Convertible Debt: Fixed-term obligations that convert to equity at predetermined prices. Creates future dilution but delays it. Strategy carries multiple convertible note series.
3. Preferred Stock: Senior securities that pay fixed dividends and sit ahead of common equity in the capital stack. Non-dilutive to per-share economics unless conversion triggers activate. Strategy has deployed this most aggressively.
The market is rewarding companies that minimize common equity dilution. Strive, which uses its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock to fund purchases, holds the highest mNAV premium among major holders (1.67×). Metaplanet, whose option pool expanded automatically from 46 million to 319.5 million shares during equity raises, trades at a 20% discount to its BTC holdings (0.80× mNAV).
Strategy's capital structure has become the most complex in the sector. As of Q1 2026 filings, the company has five series of preferred stock outstanding:
According to VanEck's analysis, as of August 23, 2026, the senior capital stack — convertible notes plus preferred shares — holds first claim on 249,512 BTC of the 846,000 then held (29.5%). That leaves 596,488 BTC backing the common equity.
The company's Digital Credit Capital Framework, adopted June 29, 2026, restricts a USD Reserve of $5.10 billion plus $1.59 billion in cash exclusively to preferred dividends and debt interest payments. This ringfences capital for senior claimants.
Strategy's latest purchase: 334 BTC between late September and October 4, 2026, for $28.7 million at an average of $85,839. Total acquisition cost for the entire stack: $64 billion at an average of $75,441 per coin. At $86,100 per BTC, the position carries approximately $9 billion in unrealized gains.
The stock trades at $155, implying a market capitalization of approximately $59.4 billion against a Bitcoin NAV of roughly $73 billion. The resulting 1.06× mNAV is the thinnest premium in Strategy's history as a Bitcoin treasury firm.
Metaplanet holds 44,000 BTC, making it the second-largest public holder. It conducted a notable operational demonstration in early October: selling 10,000 BTC and buying back 11,000 BTC to prove liquidity reserve capability.
The governance issues overshadow the treasury. VanEck's September 2026 executive compensation analysis rated Metaplanet "Bad" — the only company to receive the lowest rating among the ten firms examined. The findings, according to VanEck:
Metaplanet ended the automatic adjustment mechanism in August 2026 and cut the pool 41% in September, from 319.5 million to 188.2 million shares. VanEck stated these changes "still fall well short of the mark."
At ¥297 per share (approximately $1.82), Metaplanet trades at 0.80× mNAV. The market is pricing in the dilution: even as the BTC balance grows, common shareholders own a shrinking proportion of it.
Strive (ASST), backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, has accumulated approximately 29,500 BTC at an average cost of $91,215 — the highest acquisition cost among major holders. With BTC at $86,100, the firm sits on roughly $150 million in unrealized losses.
The company's funding mechanism differentiates it. Strive uses its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock to purchase Bitcoin without traditional debt or common equity dilution. Between September 21-25, it bought 1,107 BTC at approximately $85,396 per coin. It added another 2,000 BTC between September 28 and October 2 at $84,422.
Despite unrealized losses exceeding $500 million at various points during 2026, Strive maintains the highest mNAV among large holders at 1.67×. The market appears to reward the non-dilutive capital structure more than it punishes the above-market cost basis.
Stock price as of October 2, 2026: approximately $30. Year-to-date, the company entered the top 10 public Bitcoin treasury holders in Q1 2026 with just 333.9 BTC and scaled to nearly 29,500 BTC through aggressive purchasing.
Twenty One Capital (XXI), backed by Tether, holds 43,514 BTC — technically the second-largest holder by some counts, neck-and-neck with Metaplanet. The firm's market capitalization of $2.3 billion implies an enterprise value of $2.7 billion.
The numbers are stark. The carrying value of Bitcoin holdings: $2.55 billion (approximately $58,600 per BTC). Acquisition cost: $3.69 billion (approximately $84,900 per BTC). The position sits $1.14 billion below purchase price.
The mNAV metrics tell a layered story:
The spread between basic and diluted mNAV — 0.62× versus 1.16× — illustrates the capital structure complexity. What common shareholders own today differs materially from what they would own after all dilutive instruments convert.
MARA Holdings occupies a distinct position as a mining operation that retains 100% of mined Bitcoin rather than selling. Holdings: 35,303 BTC valued at $2.87 billion.
The mining income provides an organic source of Bitcoin accumulation that pure treasury companies lack. MARA does not need to issue equity or debt to grow its Bitcoin balance — mining generates BTC directly. This structural advantage shows in its mNAV: 1.55×, the second-highest among major holders.
Stock price as of October 2, 2026: $11.23. The premium reflects the market's valuation of mining operations as a Bitcoin acquisition channel that avoids the dilution mechanics plaguing pure treasury plays.
The Common Equity Bitcoin Exposure (CEBE) framework, developed by Bobby Tierney in January 2026, has emerged as the analytical standard for evaluating these companies. CEBE measures the percentage of a company's Bitcoin that is actually available to common shareholders after accounting for:
Traditional Bitcoin Per Share (BPS) metrics can mislead. When a company issues preferred stock to buy Bitcoin, BPS rises immediately — the Bitcoin is on the balance sheet, and the preferred shares do not count in the share denominator. But the new Bitcoin arrived with a prior claim attached.
According to the CEBE framework, Strategy's common shareholders have exposure to approximately 70.5% of the firm's Bitcoin (596,488 of 846,000 BTC), with the remaining 29.5% subordinated to senior preferred and convertible claims.
The debate between BPS and CEBE has divided the sector. According to bitcointreasuries.net, BPS advocates argue the metric captures the growth in per-share Bitcoin exposure over time. CEBE proponents counter that growth is illusory if senior claims grow faster than the Bitcoin balance.
197 public companies hold 1.27 million BTC (6.2% of total supply), up from 1.16 million in April 2026. Strategy alone accounts for 67% of the total.
The mNAV flywheel is broken for companies trading below 1.0×. Metaplanet (0.80×) and Twenty One Capital (0.62×) cannot issue equity to buy Bitcoin without further diluting shareholders.
Capital structure, not BTC volume, determines stock performance. Strive maintains a 1.67× premium despite $500M+ in unrealized losses because its preferred-stock funding avoids common equity dilution. Metaplanet trades at a 20% discount despite holding more Bitcoin.
Strategy's 5-layer preferred stack creates 29.5% subordination of common equity. Common shareholders' actual Bitcoin exposure is 596,488 BTC, not 848,000 BTC.
Governance matters. VanEck's assessment of Metaplanet — the only "Bad" rating in a 10-company peer set — directly correlates with its market discount. The 14.7% equity plan and 8.2% officer exposure dwarf the 0.8% peer average.
MARA's mining model provides organic Bitcoin accumulation without equity dilution, contributing to its 1.55× premium. Pure treasury companies lack this structural advantage.
The Bitcoin treasury sector has grown from a niche strategy to a $107 billion corporate asset class in less than three years. The aggregate BTC holdings of public companies — 6.2% of total supply — represent a structural bid that did not exist in prior cycles.
But the vehicles matter as much as the asset. The 2025-2026 correction demonstrated that buying Bitcoin is the easy part. The hard part is capital structure: how you fund the purchase, what claims sit above common equity, and whether governance protects or dilutes shareholders.
The market has priced this lesson in. Companies with clean capital structures and non-dilutive funding (Strive, MARA) trade at premiums. Companies with aggressive option pools and automatic dilution mechanisms (Metaplanet) trade at discounts. Companies with layered preferred stacks (Strategy) trade near NAV as the market learns to value subordination risk.
The CEBE framework represents the analytical maturation this sector required. When investors can distinguish between headline Bitcoin holdings and actual common equity exposure, capital allocation improves. The firms that survive the next correction will be those whose capital structures were built for drawdowns, not just rallies.
For investors, the takeaway is direct: the ticker is not the Bitcoin. The capital stack between you and the Bitcoin is.