Bitcoin Banking Adoption Strategy: New Index from Strategy Reveals Real Level of Adoption
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has launched a unique analytical tool — the Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index. This index clearly demonstrates how deeply traditional financial institutions are integrating the first cryptocurrency. The current level of institutional player engagement stands at just 32%.
The evaluation list includes the world's 25 largest banks. Analysts ranked them by their level of activity in the crypto space, and the results proved highly revealing. Fidelity Corporation emerged as the undisputed leader with a score of 71%, while European and Japanese organizations are showing weak momentum, not even reaching 30%.
How Does the Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index Work?
The index operates as a scoring system for banks: Strategy analyzes how deeply each company has implemented Bitcoin solutions and then calculates an overall percentage. Essentially, the tool shows how far conventional banks have progressed in working with BTC.
The assessment is conducted across four key areas:
- Trading and custody services.
- Products — such as spot Bitcoin ETFs and the stablecoin segment.
- Lending.
- Support at the top management level.
It is important to note that most of these instruments have only recently appeared on the market. For example, in the United States, regulators approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs only in January 2024. The 32% figure means the banking sector has tapped only a third of the potential embedded in the formula. Final scores are unevenly distributed: a bank may excel in asset custody but completely ignore lending.
"Bitcoin investments by major banks are accelerating, but they are still in the early stages: the overall index level is 32%," said Michael Saylor, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Strategy.
The report was prepared using exclusively publicly available data as of July 10. The study's authors emphasize that all published figures are indicative and invite market participants to submit their corrections to refine the database.
Fidelity Leads, Japanese Banks Lag Behind
Fidelity's confident leadership stems from a long-term and consistent strategy. As early as 2018, the holding company launched a specialized division, Fidelity Digital Assets, initially created for professional trading and secure storage of digital assets. The company's current lineup also includes its own successful spot ETF.
Following the leader are other major U.S. financial conglomerates. The scores are distributed as follows: Citigroup — 43%, BNY — 46%, Goldman Sachs — 45%, JPMorgan — 43%, Morgan Stanley — 43%.
The difference is particularly noticeable across regions. European banks, such as Banco Santander and Société Générale, sit in the middle of the list with results around 35%. Japan's SMBC and Canada's Royal Bank of Canada lag behind at just 13%.
Such activity by Strategy is directly linked to its own investment portfolio. The company holds 843,775 BTC on its balance sheet, making it the largest corporate owner of this cryptocurrency. Naturally, promoting the asset among banks benefits the company's business. The developers have openly invited market participants to submit their corrections to refine the database.
The project's creators plan to detail the methodology and regularly update the results. Wall Street's reaction to the obtained scores will reveal the true authority of this ranking in the financial world.
Expert opinion: The 32% level is not a disappointment but rather a signal of enormous growth potential. Banks, especially in Asia and Europe, are at an early stage, and as regulation eases and new instruments emerge, we will see significant acceleration. Fidelity has set the standard, and now the rest will have to catch up.