Vanguard raises Strive stake by 269,200 shares as Bitcoin equity exposure grows

Vanguard increased its exposure to Bitcoin treasury company Strive Asset Management through its Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, adding 269,200 shares and taking the fund’s position to 1.98 million shares worth roughly $23.7 million. The update, shared by BitcoinTreasuries.NET, valued the latest purchase at approximately $3.2 million. The move adds to a broader trend of institutional investors gaining indirect exposure to Bitcoin through listed companies tied to the asset, rather than holding Bitcoin directly. Joe Burnett, Director of Market Research at The Bitcoin Way, said the shift reflects Bitcoin’s deeper integration into traditional capital markets, arguing that passive investment flows are increasingly channeling money into Bitcoin-linked equities. “A massive portion of global capital is passive, simply chasing returns and copying how the market allocates capital,” Burnett wrote on X. “The world is beginning to own Bitcoin and not even know it.” Vanguard’s latest increase also fits into a wider change in its stance on digital assets. In early 2024, under then-CEO Tim Buckley, the firm refused to let clients buy spot Bitcoin ETFs on its brokerage platform. It later appointed Salim Ramji, a former BlackRock executive who had helped oversee the launch of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, as its new CEO, a change that was widely viewed as pointing to a more open approach. That shift became clearer in late 2025, when Vanguard lifted its ban on cryptocurrency ETFs, while still saying it had no plans to launch its own crypto products. In 2026, the firm continued building positions in Bitcoin treasury companies, including Strive. Vanguard had first disclosed a notable stake in Strive in April, when data showed it had increased its holdings to 27.63 million shares. In July, it also posted a job opening for its first-ever Head of Digital Assets for Personal Wealth.