Bitcoin Nears $100,000: An Overview of the Institutional Power Behind Over 2.7 Million BTC Holdings

Original Article Title: "Bitcoin Nears $100,000 Milestone, Taking Stock of Institutional Power Behind Over 2.7 Million Bitcoin Holdings"

Original Article Author: Nancy, PANews

Bitcoin today forcefully broke through the $97,000 milestone, once again setting a new all-time high. As the price of Bitcoin continues to soar, the global call to include Bitcoin in national reserve assets is growing louder, and at the same time, many institutions are accelerating their pace of Bitcoin accumulation.

In this article, PANews reviews the Bitcoin holdings of major institutions based on the latest data from BitcoinTreasuries.com. As of November 21, a total of 93 entities worldwide (ETFs, nations, publicly traded companies, private companies, etc.) publicly hold over 2.728 million Bitcoins, accounting for nearly 13% of the total Bitcoin supply. This trend further indicates that institutional investors have gradually replaced retail investors as the dominant force in the current bull market.

ETFs: Asset Value Exceeding $1.1 Trillion, IBIT Holding Accounts for Over 38%

Bitcoin spot ETFs have become an important holding channel for institutions. According to BitcoinTreasuries.com data, as of November 21, the amount of Bitcoin held by Bitcoin spot ETFs exceeded 1.231 million Bitcoins, with a current value exceeding $116.89 billion, accounting for over 5.8% of the total Bitcoin supply; meanwhile, data from The Block shows that since their launch earlier this year, the cumulative trading volume of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs has exceeded $520 billion.

In terms of asset size, the current top three Bitcoin spot ETFs are Belvedere IBIT, Grayscale GBTC, and Fidelity FBTC.

Among them, Belvedere IBIT, with 475,000 Bitcoins, has become the largest holder of ETFs, with a holding value of approximately $45.05 billion, accounting for about 38.6% of all ETF holdings. Fintel's statistics show that IBIT has 698 institutional holders with a total shareholding of nearly 160 million shares, including Millennium Management, Goldman Sachs, IMC, Aristeia, Capula Management, Schonfeld, Morgan Stanley, and Graham Capital Management, among others.

Grayscale GBTC holds over 218,000 bitcoins, worth over $20.71 billion. Fintel data shows that GBTC has 647 institutional holders with a total of 44.459 million shares. GBTC's shareholders include trusts under HorizonKinetics, Goldman Sachs, Multicoin Capital, LPL Financial, Greenwich Wealth Management, Colony Group, and HighTower Advisors.

Fidelity FBTC follows closely with 194,000 bitcoins held, with a portfolio value of $18.42 billion. Fintel data indicates that FBTC has 246 institutional owners with a total of over 5168.8 shares, including Millennium Management, Capula Management, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, DE Shaw & Co., Hana International Group, Jane Street, Hbk Investments LP, Goldman Sachs, and Pine Ridge Advisers, among others.

Country: Holding Nearly 530,000 Bitcoins, US, China, and UK Account for Almost Half

Several countries globally have become significant holders of Bitcoin. PANews previously reported that more and more governments are reassessing the value of Bitcoin as an asset, with many openly advocating for Bitcoin to be included in national reserves.

According to data from BitcoinTreasuries.com, as of November 21, nine known countries collectively hold over 529,000 bitcoins (approximately $50.24 billion in value), accounting for 2.5% of the total Bitcoin supply. Among these countries, the US, China, and the UK are the main players, holding 207,000, 194,000, and 61,000 bitcoins, respectively, totaling 46.2% of the total holdings of these countries. However, most of the bitcoins held by these countries were acquired through enforcement actions, while countries like Bhutan and El Salvador acquired bitcoins through mining or direct purchases.

Countries Holding Bitcoin

Publicly Listed Companies: Holding Value Exceeding $42.2 Billion, MicroStrategy Holds Nearly 80%

Publicly traded companies are becoming a significant force in Bitcoin's overall holdings. Data from BitcoinTreasuries.com shows that as of November 21, 43 publicly traded companies collectively hold nearly 445,000 bitcoins, currently valued at around $422.2 billion. These companies include MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, Riot Blockchain, Tesla, Hut 8, and Coinbase Global.

For instance, MicroStrategy holds over 331,000 bitcoins (worth over $314.3 billion), accounting for nearly 74.4% of all bitcoins held by publicly traded companies. At the current price of about $97,000 per bitcoin, MicroStrategy's holdings have an unrealized gain of over $14.6 billion. Through its Bitcoin investment strategy, MicroStrategy has risen into the top 100 publicly traded companies in the U.S., driving up its stock price. According to TradingView data, its stock MSTR had the second-highest trading volume yesterday (November 20) at $33.27 billion, just behind NVIDIA. MicroStrategy has not stopped purchasing Bitcoin and recently announced an increase in its zero-coupon convertible senior note offering to $2.6 billion, with some of the proceeds intended for Bitcoin purchases. Additionally, it disclosed that there is $15.3 billion of untapped capacity for Bitcoin purchases through stock issuance and sales.

Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital holds nearly 26,000 bitcoins, currently valued at around $24.6 billion. Marathon Digital's bitcoins primarily come from mining and treasury purchases. Their third-quarter financial report alone showed that they mined 2,070 bitcoins and bought 6,210 bitcoins during the quarter. Marathon Digital is also issuing $850 million in convertible notes, expandable to $1 billion, to retire debt and acquire more Bitcoin.

Tesla, after announcing a $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase in 2021, sold 4,320 bitcoins in March 2021 and 29,160 bitcoins in 2022, selling about 75% of its Bitcoin holdings. Currently, Tesla still holds 9,720 bitcoins, valued at over $9.2 billion, but this represents less than 0.7% of Tesla's total assets ($119.8 billion) and only 0.046% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Top Ten Bitcoin-Holding Public Companies

Private Companies: Reserves Worth Over $34.8 Billion

Many private crypto institutions also hold a significant amount of Bitcoin. According to BitcoinTreasuries.com, as of November 21, private companies such as Block.one, Tether, Xapo Bank, BitMEX, and Mt. Gox hold a total of approximately 367,000 BTC, currently valued at over $34.81 billion, representing 1.7% of the total Bitcoin supply.

For example, Block.one holds 140,000 BTC, valued at over $13.28 billion, with its Bitcoin primarily sourced from ICO fundraising. Since announcing Bitcoin as part of its asset reserves in 2022, Tether now holds over 82,000 BTC, valued at over $7.82 billion; the crypto bank Xapo Bank holds nearly 34,000 BTC, valued at over $3.69 billion, and this institution also became the UK's first bank to offer interest-bearing Bitcoin and fiat currency bank accounts this year.

Publicly Disclosed Holding Companies

Bitcoin Mining Companies: Holding Less Than 0.3% of Total Bitcoin Supply

Crypto mining companies are also significant holders of Bitcoin. According to BitcoinTreasuries.com, as of November 21, 14 Bitcoin mining companies collectively hold over 61,000 BTC, currently valued at $5.84 billion, accounting for less than 0.3% of the total Bitcoin supply. Among them, as mentioned earlier, Marathon Digital holds the most BTC among mining companies, far exceeding other similar enterprises; followed by Riot Blockchain, holding around 10,000 BTC, but based on its latest quarterly financial report, the company experienced significant losses, with the majority of its revenue coming from Bitcoin mining; Hut 8 ranks third with 9,109 BTC, and after receiving a $150 million investment in June this year, the company is dedicated to building AI-related infrastructure, purchasing a large number of mining machines from Bitmain, and collaborating to launch new mining machines.

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