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Who Really Owns Bitcoin Now? Surprising Facts Few Are Talking About
- Aug 26
- 7 min read
Ownership trends reveal where influence, trust, and liquidity actually sit
Bitcoin ownership has never been static. Wallets shift, institutions accumulate, miners liquidate, and retail holders steadily stack small amounts. What stands out in 2025 is the mix of concentration and distribution happening at the same time. Exchange-traded funds now account for over 1.2 million coins, more than five percent of supply, while government reserves are estimated at more than 300,000 BTC. At the other end, wallets holding less than one coin collectively surpassed seven percent of supply for the first time.
This creates a layered picture. A handful of ETFs and government treasuries now hold an influence once dominated by early whales, yet retail participation is steadily expanding. Self-custody continues to strengthen, with more than half of all coins now outside centralized platforms. Add to this the steady miner sell-offs and the new role of tokenized money market funds and Treasuries flowing across blockchains, and ownership trends begin to look more complex than price charts alone can reveal.
Understanding who holds Bitcoin now provides more than statistics. It signals where control, liquidity, and trust are clustering and where they are dispersing.
A Few Wallets Hold a Lot
A small number of wallets control a striking share of Bitcoin. Cold wallets run by exchanges dominate the list. Binance’s primary wallet holds around 248,600 BTC which is more than 1.2 percent of supply. Robinhood’s vault follows with about 140,600 BTC. Other large custodians such as Bitfinex and an additional Binance wallet also rank high, along with a U.S. government wallet storing roughly 94,600 BTC recovered from a hack.
Public companies add another layer. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, now controls close to 600,000 BTC. In total, publicly traded firms together hold more than 693,000 BTC which is just over 3.3 percent of all Bitcoin. Private firms such as Block.one hold around 140,000 BTC, and other private entities together account for close to 297,000 BTC.
Exchange-traded funds represent a growing force. U.S. spot funds now hold more than 1.4 million coins which is roughly 7 percent of total supply. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone manages over 662,500 BTC, representing more than 3 percent of all supply.
Governments are also on the list of major holders. Combined sovereign holdings are around 517,000 BTC, equal to nearly 2.5 percent of supply. The United States maintains a strategic reserve of roughly 207,000 BTC sourced mainly from enforcement actions, while China manages about 190,000 BTC from fraud-related seizures.
When exchange wallets, corporate treasuries, ETFs, and governments are viewed together, they account for close to 17 percent of Bitcoin’s total supply. At the same time, retail wallets holding less than one BTC now collectively own more than 7 percent. The result is a market where large custodians and institutions maintain influence, yet grassroots participation is steadily growing.
Two signals stand out. Institutional and custodial players steer supply through scale, while the steady rise of self-custody and small wallet adoption shows a broadening base of ownership.
Institutions and ETFs Take Center Stage
The entrance of exchange-traded funds has transformed how Bitcoin is held. Since approval in early 2024, U.S. spot ETFs have accumulated more than 1.4 million BTC. This equals close to seven percent of total supply. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone now manages over 662,500 BTC, which represents more than three percent of all coins in existence. Fidelity and Grayscale follow closely, each adding to the growing concentration of assets under institutional control.
The appeal for investors is clear. ETFs provide direct Bitcoin exposure through traditional brokerage accounts. Pension funds, retirement planners, and wealth managers can now access Bitcoin without touching private keys or navigating exchanges. That convenience has drawn in capital at a pace rarely seen for other asset classes.
This institutional layer reshapes liquidity. Large ETFs provide stability in trading volume, while at the same time reducing the number of coins circulating in open markets. Combined with government reserves, more than 1.9 million BTC is now effectively locked in long-term holdings.
The comparison with tokenized real-world assets highlights another trend. Just as ETFs simplify Bitcoin access, tokenized money market funds and Treasuries are bringing traditional finance onto blockchains. The tokenized funds market has grown to more than seven billion dollars in 2025, nearly doubling in size since the start of the year. Major issuers such as BlackRock and BNY Mellon are creating blockchain-native wrappers for U.S. Treasuries and money market assets. These products settle faster and can be used directly in crypto markets, bridging liquidity between old and new finance.
Together, ETFs and tokenized assets point to the same conclusion. Traditional finance is not only adopting blockchain infrastructure but also embedding itself directly into Bitcoin’s supply and the wider crypto economy.
Retail and Self-Custody Still Matter
While large holders attract attention, smaller wallets are quietly rewriting the story of Bitcoin distribution. Addresses with less than one BTC now account for more than seven percent of supply, the highest share recorded to date. These wallets are often managed by individual users who accumulate steadily over time, sometimes in fractions of a coin, through exchanges or automated purchase plans.
The strength of this base is in numbers. Millions of wallets collectively hold coins that rival the size of some institutional positions. What once looked like minor activity has grown into a structural presence. The rise of sub-1 BTC wallets shows that Bitcoin is no longer defined only by whales and corporate treasuries.
Self-custody trends amplify this shift. More than half of all Bitcoin supply now resides outside of centralized platforms. Hardware wallets, multisig arrangements, and other forms of private storage have become more common. Each coin held in self-custody represents one less coin available to exchanges, reducing the pool of liquid supply. This strengthens the role of individual holders while limiting centralized control.
The pattern matters because it reflects commitment rather than speculation. Coins in small wallets and self-custody setups are less likely to move frequently, which adds a layer of resilience to Bitcoin’s supply base. While institutions concentrate holdings through scale, millions of smaller participants are anchoring Bitcoin in households and personal vaults across the globe.
Miners and Market Liquidity
Miners remain a critical supply source, yet their behavior has changed in the past year. With rewards reduced after the most recent halving, many miners have had to sell larger portions of their reserves to cover operating costs. In June alone, more than 30,000 BTC were transferred from miner wallets into circulation. This marked one of the heaviest monthly sell-offs since 2021.
The overall reserve balance held by miners has been steadily declining. From a peak above 1.9 million BTC several years ago, reserves now stand closer to 1.8 million. Although this drop may appear modest in absolute terms, the steady outflow reinforces a trend of miners becoming less of a long-term holding class and more of an active liquidity source.
The effect on the market is twofold. Regular miner sales provide ongoing supply for buyers, preventing sudden scarcity. At the same time, the steady reduction in miner-held coins shifts influence away from mining pools and into the hands of institutions, ETFs, and retail self-custody.
Energy costs also play a part. With difficulty rates climbing and margins compressed, miners often face immediate pressure to liquidate part of their production. This dynamic creates a predictable cadence of new supply entering the market, which traders and long-term holders watch closely.
While miners no longer dominate ownership in the way they did during Bitcoin’s early years, their role as a liquidity valve remains. Their steady outflows help sustain trading activity while simultaneously redistributing coins into other hands.
Why Ownership Distribution Matters
Bitcoin’s supply is finite, yet who holds it can influence everything from liquidity to trust. The current distribution shows both concentration and diversification. Large ETFs, governments, and corporate treasuries account for millions of coins, anchoring Bitcoin in mainstream finance. Exchange wallets hold vast sums, creating pools of liquidity that traders rely on.
At the same time, millions of small wallets now represent a growing collective force. Their share of supply, while modest individually, reflects a structural change. Self-custody strengthens this base, ensuring that coins are not concentrated solely in custodial platforms.
Miners add another dimension. Their steady sales feed new supply into the market, redistributing coins into retail hands, institutional funds, and government reserves. This constant circulation prevents Bitcoin from being locked away entirely while maintaining a flow that investors and analysts can track with precision.
Ownership distribution is more than a statistic. It signals how Bitcoin functions as both a decentralized network and a financial instrument integrated into global markets. Concentration in ETFs provides ease of access, while retail adoption anchors its credibility as a peer-to-peer system. Together, these dynamics explain why supply data is as important to study as price charts.
Final Take
Bitcoin ownership in 2025 reveals a layered system. Large ETFs and corporate treasuries control millions of coins, giving traditional finance a structural role. Governments continue to accumulate through enforcement actions and reserves. Exchange wallets remain deep liquidity pools for traders.
On the other side, millions of small wallets holding less than one coin now account for more than seven percent of supply. Self-custody has crossed the halfway mark, proving that individuals still hold influence. Miners, while reduced in their share of total supply, remain an important flow of liquidity, redistributing coins into both retail and institutional hands.
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