Bitcoin’s Supply Drain: The Ways Companies Are Transforming the Digital Gold Benchmark

In 2025, public and institutional

holdings have climbed to new highs, based on updated figures from blockchain analytics sites and company filings. Over the course of the year, public firms alone accumulated more than 196,207 BTC, which far surpasses the roughly 60,044 BTC newly introduced in 2025. This wave of acquisition, led by companies such as MicroStrategy, , and , has driven the total global corporate stash of Bitcoin past 847,000 coins—amounting to nearly 4% of all Bitcoin in existence. MicroStrategy, under Michael Saylor’s leadership, continues to set the pace, holding 214,400 BTC as of 2025 and reaffirming Bitcoin as a key element in its corporate treasury plans.

The speed at which institutions have been buying has created what analysts call a “supply sink,” temporarily reducing the coins available for active trading and enhancing Bitcoin’s reputation as a store of value. This effect has been intensified by ETFs, which collectively added more than 59,000 BTC to their portfolios in 2025, with assets totaling over $6.15 billion in Bitcoin. The move indicates a wider reallocation of institutional funds toward digital assets, with more companies treating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, akin to gold.

Bitcointreasuries.net reports that more than 197 organizations—including public and private companies, ETFs, government entities, and custodians—now collectively hold an estimated 3.32 million BTC, constituting over 16% of the total supply in circulation. ETFs and investment funds top the list with 1.343 million BTC, closely followed by public firms holding 786,857 BTC.

, which has become the second-largest holder among corporations, accumulated 568,840 BTC by May 2025, only trailing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which possesses 625,054 BTC. Strategy’s CEO, Phong Le, anticipates that the number of public companies with Bitcoin on their balance sheet could hit 700 by next year, indicating ongoing institutional uptake.

Additional figures from CryptoQuant point to another significant pattern: the unprecedented buildup by so-called Bitcoin “accumulator” wallets—addresses that have never sold any coins. These long-term holders have ramped up their buying in 2025, achieving historic peaks even as the broader market fluctuates. Motivated by global economic uncertainty and a search for alternative value stores, these accumulators are now a major source of sustained Bitcoin demand. Historically, strong activity from this group has often come before notable price surges, as their steady buying steadily decreases the available supply.

Despite sharp price swings recently—with Bitcoin dipping below its 200-day moving average around $113,326—the market remains in a consolidation period. Market experts believe that the combination of limited OTC desk inflows and persistent institutional interest could help keep Bitcoin prices buoyant in the near term. OTC desks currently hold around 416,000 BTC, equivalent to about $30 billion, giving large buyers the ability to acquire Bitcoin without causing immediate spikes in the spot market. However, if OTC inflows drop further, it could signal rising demand and may drive Bitcoin to fresh record highs.

Industry executives and regulators are paying close attention to these trends as the regulatory framework for digital assets develops. The steady progress of the U.S. government in crafting rules for digital currencies and stablecoins is viewed as encouraging by many institutional investors. As an increasing number of companies recognize the benefits of using Bitcoin as a reserve, the interplay of supply and demand is expected to become even more influential, shaping Bitcoin’s market direction in the years ahead.