MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has been added to a major global equity index following a substantial rise in its stock price. MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), a global provider of investment decision support tools, announced on Tuesday that MicroStrategy is one of the three largest additions by market capitalization to its MSCI World Index, effective May 31.

This inclusion comes on the heels of MicroStrategy’s latest bitcoin acquisition on April 29, which brought its total holdings to 214,400 bitcoins, currently valued at approximately $13.5 billion. The company's total bitcoin acquisitions have cost $7.5 billion, averaging $35,180 per bitcoin. As a result, MicroStrategy boasts a paper profit of around $6 billion from its bitcoin investments.

MicroStrategy's stock has seen a dramatic rise since hitting a low alongside the broader cryptocurrency market in December 2022. The company's shares have surged more than eightfold since then and are up over 87% year-to-date, significantly outperforming bitcoin’s 45% gains in 2024, as per TradingView data.

However, not everyone is bullish on MicroStrategy’s stock. In March, investment firm Kerrisdale Capital, which holds a short position on MicroStrategy shares, argued that the stock was trading at an "unjustifiable premium" to bitcoin.

MicroStrategy’s significant bitcoin holdings, which represent more than 1% of bitcoin’s total supply of 21 million, have made the company a de facto proxy for bitcoin exposure in traditional markets. This was especially relevant before the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. in January. The addition of MicroStrategy to the MSCI World Index underscores how bitcoin exposure is becoming more integrated into traditional investment portfolios. Billions of dollars track or are benchmarked against the MSCI World Index, highlighting the broader acceptance of bitcoin in mainstream finance, as noted by Bloomberg.

Furthermore, the recent introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs is accelerating this trend, providing investors with more direct exposure to bitcoin through traditional financial instruments.

In addition to its market activities, MicroStrategy is expanding its influence in the blockchain space. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to launch a bitcoin-based decentralized identity solution, further demonstrating its commitment to leveraging blockchain technology beyond mere asset accumulation.