The Hilariously Awkward Fallout for This Bitcoin-Hating Company in 2025

Once vocal Bitcoin critics now face a reckoning—turns out betting against digital gold wasn't the career-defining move they'd hoped for.

How the tables have turned

Remember when this firm's CEO called BTC a 'fraud' during the 2022 bear market? Fast forward to Q2 2025, and their institutional clients are demanding crypto exposure—while their own treasury remains stubbornly fiat-only.

The irony is delicious

While competitors rake in fees from Bitcoin ETFs and staking products, this anti-crypto holdout watches from the sidelines. Their compliance department still blocks all crypto transactions—even as 83% of Fortune 500s now hold BTC on their balance sheets.

Wall Street's cold hard truth

Another quarter, another earnings miss. Turns out refusing to service a $2.3 trillion asset class isn't great for shareholder value—but hey, at least they've got principles. (And dwindling AUM.)

Vanguard’s new chief executive Salim Ramji doubled down on the company’s position when he was appointed last year — arguing that Bitcoin just doesn’t align with its long-standing investment philosophy.

But in a bizarre turn of events, Vanguard is actually a much bigger player in the crypto world than you may think. In a rather delicious twist of irony, the firm now owns more Strategy stock than anyone else — meaning a substantial number of investors on its platform will have exposure to a company with the stated goal of amassing as much Bitcoin as possible.

In some ways, this decision is completely out of the investment giant’s control. Vanguard was a pioneer in offering index funds, which allow consumers to track hundreds of different stocks in one place. As its founder John C. Bogle once said: “Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!”

Strategy’s extraordinary share price performance over the past five years has made it difficult to ignore. Since it started adding Bitcoin to its treasury back in 2020, stock in the business intelligence firm has jumped by a jaw-dropping 3,665%. MSTR regularly rallies during bull cycles, too. It’s surged by 23% in just six months, and 16% over the past 30 days.

Such box office returns and healthy financials led to Michael Saylor’s firm being included in the Nasdaq 100 for the first time — a MOVE that prompts a rush of purchases as index fund providers race to rebalance their portfolios. The same can also be said for when Coinbase officially joined the S&P 500 in May — becoming the only crypto stock within this flagship index.

Estimates from Bloomberg suggest Vanguard now owns about 20 million Strategy shares, representing 8% of common stock. The U.S. media outlet’s ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reacted by saying “God has a sense of humor,” adding:

“Vanguard chose this life. When you have an index fund, you have to own all the stocks, for better or worse, and that includes stocks that you may not like or approve of personally.”

Strategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor has also found it difficult to contain his glee — somewhat disingenuously arguing that Vanguard’s holding reflects “growing institutional support for Bitcoin.” No, Michael: it didn’t have a choice.

It’s the latest sign that the worlds of crypto and traditional finance are becoming more and more entwined.

Resurgent crypto stocks are undoubtedly good news for everyday investors currently saving for their retirement or a rainy day — especially those who don’t have the stomach for Bitcoin’s volatility, or the technical wherewithal to buy some for themselves.

But make no mistake: this is a road that goes two ways. And should Strategy’s stock end up crashing during the next bear market — or the company ends up in financial peril if its Bitcoin suddenly becomes worth less than its cost price — these same investors could end up taking a substantial financial hit.