ETFs, governments and MicroStrategy are leading the charge

Institutional investors now account for 31% of all known Bitcoin (BTC) holders, a sharp increase from 14% in 2023.

The rise has been driven largely by spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), government buyouts, and the rise of its MicroStrategy BTC strategy, which has seen its stash grow to over 440,000 BTC.

ETF, MicroStrategy, Drive Institutional Inflows

According to statistics shared by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, the majority of known Bitcoin holdings are held by miners and crypto exchanges. However, MicroStrategy, ETFs and various governments have eaten up their shares.

Launched earlier this year, spot BTC ETFs have seen billions of dollars in inflows from traditional financial institutions, and the likes of BlackRock’s iShares saw an impressive $1.4 billion in weekly net inflows in mid-December. Altogether, the data shows that the sector represents more than 1.3 million BTC, valued at $124.89 billion.

MicroStrategy is also a major holder of the number one cryptocurrency. Its treasury, which consists of about 2% of the circulating supply of BTC, is worth $46.15 billion. The company has bought the cryptocurrency several times in recent years, breaking the record for the largest monthly purchase in November, when it acquired 134,480 BTC in three successive tranches of 27,200, 51,780 and 55,500.

The Virginia-based company’s success has spawned several imitators, including Japanese firm Metaplanet, which just bought another 619.70 BTC to bring its total holdings to 1,761.98 BTC worth nearly 170 million dollars.

Other private entities holding Bitcoin include Block.one, with 164,000 units of the asset, stablecoin issuer Tether, which has 82,454 BTC according to Bitcoin Treasuries, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has 8,285 BTC valued at nearly 796 million of dollars

Defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox also maintains a sizable virtual asset chest, which stands at 44,899.

Governments as main gateways

The United States leads the pack among governments, with 198,109 BTC worth an estimated $19 billion in its care. Many came from the Silk Road, a notorious online black market known for facilitating the sale of drugs and other illegal goods and services.

To maintain the anonymity of its users, the platform used BTC as its primary currency, thousands of which were seized by law enforcement after they shut down the website and arrested its founder, Ross Ulbricht.

Despite the existing ban on crypto, China also has an impressive amount of Bitcoin around 190,000. The Kingdom of Bhutan is another big headliner. Its treasury, derived from mining, has 11,688 BTC, currently valued at $1.12 billion.

El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, has nearly 6,000 coins, much of it accumulated under President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin per Day policy. In total, around 2.45% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply, valued at $49.36 billion, is controlled by states.

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