Individual investors hold 66.1% of bitcoin’s total supply, dwarfing the 7.8% held by businesses and the 7.2% sitting in funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to asset manager Bitwise.
Key Takeaways
Bitwise data shows individuals control 66.1% of BTC supply, versus 7.8% for businesses and 7.2% for funds.Institutional share has grown since U.S. spot ETFs launched in January 2024, yet retail dominance holds.U.S. bitcoin and ether ETFs just snapped an 8-week outflow streak that drained $9.46 billion from the funds.The remainder, roughly 19%, spans governments, miners, unaccounted wallets and other categories. That said, Bitwise acknowledged the methodology has blind spots noting that multi-signature wallets and pooled custody arrangements can obscure who actually owns the coins behind an address.
The Institutions’ Slice Is Bigger Than Before, but Still ThinETF money moves with sentiment, macro data and quarterly rebalancing. The individual majority, by contrast, has historically been stickier (a base of holders that onchain analysts credit with absorbing supply through notable slumps).
In a market this deep into a drawdown, who holds the coins shapes how the next leg plays out because a retail-dominated supply base means the marginal seller is more likely a household than a fund desk, and it blunts the common critique that Wall Street has quietly taken over the network.
The number to watch from here is the fund share because if ETFs fire back up with any sort of gusto, the 7.2% slice could grind higher and test how durable retail’s two-thirds majority really is. But for now, Bitwise’s data clearly shows that the OGs still rule the roost.
