Bitcoin's banking adoption hits 32%, according to Michael Saylor

Bitcoin now has 32% adoption among major global banks, according to an index published by Strategy. Michael Saylor, founder of the first BTC reserve company, considers this breakthrough promising but still premature. Is the market on the verge of a banking shift?

Bitcoin appeals to banks, but the market remains nascent

Strategy long advocated the idea that bitcoin would eventually appear in bank balance sheets. The company has just quantified it in black and white via an index detailed by AMBCrypto: its new banking adoption index credits bitcoin with 32% overall penetration in major banks. 

Michael Saylor describes this trajectory as accelerating, while reminding that the market remains in its early stages. The leader has been deploying a bitcoin monetization strategy for months that goes beyond mere accumulation.

Bitcoin adoption by major banks is accelerating but remains in its early stages: 32% overall, according to the index.

The index covers several dimensions of banking activity: ETF trading, custody, and lending. It provides a precise overview of institutional appetite for bitcoin. However, a 32% score mainly indicates a movement still in its infancy, far from saturation.

Fidelity dominates an still sparse ranking

Fidelity Trust leads the pack with a score of 71%. The institution shows a flawless record in custody, BTC holding, ETF trading, and stablecoin issuance. Its position illustrates the ability of a historic player to embrace the entire bitcoin value chain.

BNY Mellon ranks second at 46%, followed by Goldman Sachs at 45%, completing the top three. Other global players complete the list, such as the Spanish bank Banco Santander, the French Société Générale, and the British Standard Chartered. 

These names confirm a gradual opening of traditional financial centers. The gap between the leader and its runners-up reveals the extent of the remaining journey. Reference banks convert intermittently, not through a unanimous wave.

Saylor wants to make Strategy a “Bitcoin bank”

The most revealing section of the index concerns lending: that is, banks’ ability to grant loans backed by spot BTC or ETFs like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). 

In 2026, most institutions favored spot BTC ETFs as collateral rather than bitcoin itself. This preference highlights persistent mistrust toward the native asset.

The use of this collateral for futures market remains marginal. Saylor has several times expressed the desire to make Strategy the “world’s first Bitcoin bank.” The company could mobilize its own BTC reserve as collateral to issue new credit instruments, beyond its STRC product, relying on banking partners.

The 32% score shows, however, that bitcoin is not yet treated as high-quality collateral. By extension, his vision of a “BTC bank” remains, for now, hardly viable. Strategy has nevertheless strengthened its financial stance: a sale of MSTR shares worth 467 million increased its cash reserve to 3 billion dollars, covering twenty months of obligations.

In short, bitcoin is gradually settling into the banking sphere without being fully admitted yet. Three catalysts shape the future: the scaling of BTC-backed lending, broadening collateral to spot ETFs, and Strategy’s ability to structure its own instruments. 

The company’s cash reserve, raised to 3 billion dollars after a sale of MSTR shares worth 467 million, gives it twenty months of coverage for its commitments. This financial foundation, which Saylor believes can last decades without a bitcoin increase, feeds its patient conquest of bank status. The shift is underway, not yet sealed.