IBIT vs MSTR
Strategy's live mNAV is temporarily unavailable, so the MSTR side of this comparison can't be priced right now. IBIT remains pure 1:1 spot exposure at a 0.25% annual fee; see the live treasury scoreboard for MSTR's current reading.
Side by side
| IBIT (spot ETF) | MSTR (Strategy) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you're buying | Shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF · 1 share is a fixed slice of BTC | Equity in Strategy (leveraged BTC treasury + software) |
| Effective BTC price | $82,119 (spot) | · |
| Premium / discount vs spot | None · tracks spot (0.25% annual fee) | · |
| Leverage / upside | 1:1 with bitcoin · no leverage | Operating leverage · accretive when issuing equity above NAV |
| Ongoing cost | 0.25% expense ratio per year | No fund fee · cost is the mNAV premium you pay at entry |
| Tax-advantaged accounts | Trades in any brokerage / IRA · ideal for sheltered compounding | Also trades in any brokerage / IRA as a stock |
| Key risk | Pure price volatility · not your keys, but no issuer-specific risk | Premium can compress; dilution; issuer-specific risk |
IBIT tracks spot 1:1 (the 0.25% fee is an annual cost, not a price premium). MSTR effective price = live spot times MSTR mNAV. Refreshed every 5 minutes from CoinGecko, Yahoo Finance, and bitcointreasuries.net.
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Frequently asked
IBIT vs MSTR: which is better for bitcoin exposure?
Strategy's live mNAV is temporarily unavailable, so the MSTR side of this comparison can't be priced right now. IBIT remains pure 1:1 spot exposure at a 0.25% annual fee; see the live treasury scoreboard for MSTR's current reading. The decision comes down to which exposure you want. Pure, fee-only spot with no premium risk favors IBIT, most clearly when MSTR trades at a premium. Leverage and accretion favors MSTR, most clearly when mNAV is compressed below ~1.05x. The Galaxy Mind /fit engine weighs this explicitly using live mNAV, your horizon, and your account type. Not financial advice.
Is IBIT just spot bitcoin?
Effectively yes · IBIT (BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust) holds actual bitcoin and its shares track the spot price 1:1, minus a 0.25% annual expense ratio. There is no leverage and no premium to net asset value of any meaningful size, because authorized participants arbitrage it back to spot. The trade-off versus self-custody is that you don't hold the keys · you hold a fund share. For a tax-advantaged account where you can't easily self-custody, that's usually an acceptable trade.
What is MSTR's mNAV right now?
MSTR's live mNAV is published at galaxymind.space/treasuries/MSTR and updates every 5 minutes. mNAV is Strategy's market cap divided by the value of the bitcoin it holds · above 1.0 means you pay a premium for the wrapper, below 1.0 means a discount.
When does MSTR beat IBIT?
MSTR tends to win when two things line up. Its mNAV is low, near or below ~1.05x, so you are not overpaying for the wrapper. And you actually want the operating leverage that lets Strategy accumulate more bitcoin per share over time. IBIT tends to win when MSTR trades at a steep premium, when you want zero issuer-specific risk, or when you simply want the cleanest possible spot exposure in a retirement account. Because the mNAV moves daily, the answer changes · which is why this page prices it live rather than giving a static verdict.
How is this comparison calculated?
IBIT's effective bitcoin price is the live spot price (it tracks spot 1:1; the 0.25% fee is shown separately as an annual cost, not a price premium). MSTR's effective bitcoin price is live spot times MSTR's mNAV (market cap divided by value of bitcoin held). Spot from CoinGecko, MSTR market cap and bitcoin holdings from Yahoo Finance + bitcointreasuries.net, all refreshed every 5 minutes. Open methodology, reproducible from public data. Not financial advice.