Strategy’s market cap overtakes First Abu Dhabi Bank as Bitcoin bet pays off

Five years ago, Strategy Inc. was a mid-tier software company with a market cap under $2 billion. Today, it is worth more than First Abu Dhabi Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East.

As of September 25, 2026, Strategy’s market capitalization reached $60.94 billion, edging past First Abu Dhabi Bank’s $60.10 billion. The company, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR and was formerly known as MicroStrategy, has effectively reinvented itself as a publicly listed Bitcoin treasury vehicle.

The numbers behind the milestone

Strategy holds over 840,000 Bitcoin as of mid-to-late 2026, a position built almost entirely through aggressive capital markets activity: equity issuances, convertible notes, and preferred stock offerings that have tripled the company’s shares outstanding since 2020.

MSTR’s market cap peaked near $128 billion in 2025 before pulling back to current levels. First Abu Dhabi Bank holds AED 1.4 trillion (roughly $382 billion) in total assets and reported a net profit of AED 10.7 billion in the first half of 2026 alone. Yet in the stock market’s assessment of future value, a Bitcoin treasury company now sits higher on the leaderboard.

How Strategy got here

Michael Saylor, Strategy’s executive chairman, began converting the company’s treasury into Bitcoin in 2020. Strategy has issued multiple tranches of convertible debt and preferred stock specifically to raise capital for Bitcoin acquisition, turning the company into something closer to a leveraged Bitcoin ETF than a traditional operating business.

Recent strategy shifts show the approach is maturing. The company has authorized share buybacks, conducted preferred-stock repurchases, and introduced limited Bitcoin sales as a liquidity management tool.

What the milestone actually means

The MSTR-FAB crossover is a concrete illustration of how capital is being reallocated toward Bitcoin-adjacent assets, even as traditional financial institutions continue to generate far more revenue and hold far more in actual assets.

Several companies have begun allocating portions of their treasuries to Bitcoin, following the template Saylor established. Regulators in both the US and the Gulf region are watching companies like Strategy more carefully as the asset class grows. A single listed company holding over 840,000 Bitcoin represents a concentration that would draw scrutiny in any asset class, particularly around disclosure, leverage limits, and custody requirements.

For now, the scoreboard reads: Bitcoin treasury company, $60.94 billion. Gulf bank with AED 1.4 trillion in assets, $60.10 billion.