not a good trend IMO.
Most Bitcoin Still Belongs to Individuals, but Institutions Are Catching Up: ResearchWhat to know:
River’s research estimates that as of Aug. 25, 2025, individuals hold about 65.9% of BTC (13.83 million coins).
Funds and ETFs control about 7.8% of supply; businesses hold 6.2% and governments control 1.5%.
River says the distribution is inferred from filings, address tagging and prior research. In other words, it is an estimate, not an on-chain census.
What do you guys think would happen if the majority of the supply is held by institutions? Wouldn’t that slow down the adoption process since most of them are just into holding long-term?
And does that also mean the market ends up being more manipulated by them, since they control such a big chunk of the supply?
To begin with, I will say that you should be careful what you wish for, because it could come true. I want to say that since I've been on this forum (10+ years) many members have wanted exactly what has been happening for the last, say, 5 years - or just a little less than 2 years since BTC spot ETFs were approved in the US.
Everything that is happening is a logical sequence of events, although it took a long time for the big ones to recognize the opportunity offered by Bitcoin, so we small ordinary people got the opportunity to invest at a price that Saylor and the other big players can't even dream of. Now the only question is at what price any of us decide to sell BTC, because they have the money to buy at $100k, but $200k or more won't be a problem for them either.
Realistically, they don't literally control the market, but in some ways they can greatly affect the price of BTC if they decide to dump a large amount of BTC - which is an option at any time. Whether anyone likes it or not, they are responsible for the fact that the price of Bitcoin is over $100k today.