Majority Of Bitcoin Supply Held By Private Investors, Reports Bitwise

According to PANews, Bitwise Asset Management has reported that a significant portion of Bitcoin's total supply is controlled by individual holders. Of the 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, 69.4% are owned by private investors. This concentration of ownership among individuals may pose challenges for large institutions and governments attempting to acquire Bitcoin. In a recent post on the X platform, Bitwise detailed the distribution of Bitcoin's total supply. Besides individual holders, approximately 7.5% of Bitcoin is considered lost. Funds and ETPs control 6.1% of Bitcoin, while wallets associated with Bitcoin's anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, hold 4.6%. Additionally, governments and corporations collectively own only 5.8% of Bitcoin. Bitwise emphasized that if companies and governments wish to acquire Bitcoin, they primarily need to purchase from individuals willing to sell. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley noted that despite ongoing purchases by corporations and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin's price continues to face downward pressure. He also highlighted that the majority of Bitcoin's value remains in the hands of individual holders. Meanwhile, only 5.7% of Bitcoin remains to be mined. Furthermore, the availability of Bitcoin in the OTC market is dwindling. A cryptocurrency analyst pointed out that only about 140,000 Bitcoins are left in the OTC market. He stated, "Even institutions have very little Bitcoin left to buy." The analyst explained that last month, ETFs collectively purchased 50,000 Bitcoins. However, the price trend remained stable, indicating that institutions are acquiring Bitcoin from the OTC market rather than exchanges to avoid triggering price increases. As OTC supply diminishes, this strategy may no longer be viable.