Fidelity and Bank of America both had direct exposure to Bitcoin in Q1 by increasing their MicroStrategy holdings

Bank of America and Fidelity Bank held a large number of MicroStrategy shares on their balance sheets in the first quarter, indicating that institutions still have interest in indirect Bitcoin exposure. As of the end of March, Bank of America showed that it had purchased 86,147 shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) in the first quarter. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Fidelity increased its holdings by 97,199 shares during the same period. Since MicroStrategy began holding Bitcoin as reserves on its balance sheet, the company's stock price has closely tracked the price of Bitcoin. Many traders still regard this stock as one of the closest publicly traded proxies for Bitcoin spot exposure. As of April 4, MicroStrategy held 140,000 Bitcoins. As previously reported, BofA Securities, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Company both became MicroStrategy's top 10 shareholders in the first quarter of 2023.