By 2025, the majority of Bitcoin remains in the hands of individuals.
However, institutions, ETFs, and corporate treasuries are gradually increasing their Bitcoin holdings, altering the ownership landscape.
The growing diversity in Bitcoin ownership is highlighted by exchange cold wallets, mid-tier investors, and sovereign reserves.
As Bitcoin nears its cap of 21 million coins, understanding who holds it becomes increasingly intriguing. While retail investors still lead the pack, institutions and even governments are quietly expanding their shares. A recent analysis by U.S.-based financial firm River provides insight into this distribution.
Individuals Maintain Dominance
An estimated 65.9% of circulating Bitcoins—about 13.83 million coins—are held by individuals through private wallets or exchange accounts classified as personal holdings. Businesses account for 6.2%, while ETFs and funds represent a rising institutional influence at 7.8%. Governments hold a smaller portion at around 1.5%, primarily from seized or strategically retained coins.
The report clarifies that these numbers are derived from filings, address tagging, and previous research—they offer estimates rather than an exact blockchain picture.
The prevailing trend shows that although individuals remain predominant holders of Bitcoin, institutional players are steadily enhancing their positions.
Exchanges and Corporations Hold Significant Shares
A substantial amount of Bitcoins is held not by individual people but by exchanges themselves.
For instance, Binance’s main cold wallet contains approximately 248,600 BTC, a value exceeding $26 billion.
// Sample JavaScript code for testing
function greetUser(name) {
alert(‘Hello,’ + name + ‘! Welcome to our site.’);
}
greetUser(‘John Doe’);
console.log(“This message should appear in console.”);
// Another sample script block
function calculateSum(a,b){
return a+b;
// Comment inside JavaScript codeblock should also be preserved.
}
console.log(calculateSum(10,-20));
window.onload=function(){
var element=document.getElementById(“myButton”);
element.onclick=function(){
alert(“Button clicked!”);
};
};
window.addEventListener(“load”,function(){
// Dynamic event listener example
document.querySelector(“#dynamic”).addEventListener(“click”,function(){
alert(“Dynamic Element Clicked!”);
});
});
document.querySelector(“.highlight”).addEventListener(“mouseover”, function() {
// Inline comments within scripts must also be kept intact.
this.style.backgroundColor=”#00f”;
});
// Function definition example:
const multiply=(x,y)=>x*y;
// Asynchronous operation using Promise:
let promise=new Promise((resolve,reject)=>{
setTimeout(()=>{
resolve();
},2000);
});
// Handling promise resolution:
promise.then(()=>{
console.log(`Promise resolved after delay.`);
}).catch((error)=>{
console.error(`Error occurred during async operation:${error}`);
});
// Async/Await syntax usage demonstration:
async function fetchData(url){
try{
let response=await fetch(url);
if(!response.ok){
throw new Error(`HTTP error! Status:${response.status}`);
}
let data=await response.json();
return data;
}catch(error){
throw error;
}
}
// Fetching JSON data asynchronously:
fetchData(“/api/data”)
.then(data=>{
console.table(data); // Display fetched data as table format.
})
.catch(err=>{
console.error(err.message); // Log any errors encountered during fetching process.
document.querySelector(“.parent-container”).addEventListener(
“click”,
(event)=>{
if(event.target.matches(“.child-element”)){
event.target.classList.toggle(
“active”
);
// Toggle active state upon clicking child elements directly under parent container context only!
}
}
);
// Regular expression pattern matching examples:
const textSample=
“The quick brown fox jumps over lazy dog.”;