Exposure analysis · 6 min read

How much Bitcoin do you actually own?

Most Bitcoin-thesis investors hold more than just spot BTC. They own some MSTR. Maybe an ETF or two. Maybe a Strategy preferred. The total Bitcoin exposure across all of it is rarely what you'd guess.

The naive view: just count BTC

If you own 1 BTC at $80,000, your Bitcoin exposure is $80,000. Simple. But that math falls apart the moment you own anything else with Bitcoin embedded in it.

The four ways to hold Bitcoin

Direct BTC. You hold the coin. Exposure = 1 coin per coin.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs. IBIT, FBTC, ARKB, BITB. Each share represents a small fraction of a BTC, set by the fund's NAV. Exposure = shares × BTC-per-share.
MSTR equity. Strategy holds 815,000+ BTC. Each diluted share represents roughly 0.00259 BTC. Exposure = shares × BTC per share.
Strategy preferreds. STRK is convertible to MSTR (so has some BTC exposure floor). STRC, STRF, STRD are yield products with effectively no direct BTC exposure.

Effective BTC exposure — the unified number

Put it all together and you get a single number: your effective Bitcoin exposure, denominated in BTC. The formula is straightforward:

Effective BTC =
    direct BTC
  + (MSTR shares × BTC per MSTR share)
  + (FBTC shares × FBTC BTC per share)
  + (IBIT shares × IBIT BTC per share)
  + (other spot ETFs × their BTC per share)
  + (STRK × conversion ratio × BTC per MSTR share)

The preferreds without a conversion right — STRC, STRF, STRD — contribute zero to effective BTC. They're yield instruments, not BTC exposure.

A worked example

Say you own:

0.5 BTC (direct)
200 shares of MSTR (each ~0.00259 BTC = 0.518 BTC)
500 shares of FBTC (each ~0.000862 BTC = 0.431 BTC)
100 shares of STRK (each converts to 0.1 MSTR if exercised → ~0.026 BTC)

Your effective Bitcoin exposure is roughly 1.48 BTC. Three of those four positions are not direct BTC — but two-thirds of your effective exposure comes from them.

Why this matters

Position sizing. If you think you own 0.5 BTC of exposure but actually own 1.48, you're 3x more levered to BTC than you realize.
Volatility. MSTR has higher BTC torque than spot BTC. So even though MSTR + FBTC contribute similar BTC equivalents, MSTR will swing harder.
Tax planning. Selling MSTR is a stock transaction. Selling BTC is a crypto transaction. Different forms, different lots, different planning. (See tools we use for tax software.)

Compute it live

The BTC Exposure dashboard does this math automatically. Enter your positions across BTC, MSTR, FBTC, IBIT, ARKB, BITB, STRK, STRC, STRF, STRD, and MSTY — it computes the unified effective BTC exposure and shows you how it breaks down by instrument. Live prices, MSTR holdings auto-refreshed from CoinGecko, no account required.