Behind Every Buy Is a Sell: Who’s Fueling Bitcoin’s Demand Surge in 2025?

Bitcoin’s climb in 2025 continues to challenge skeptics, fueled by steady accumulation from institutions, ETFs, corporations, and nation-states. Yet for every new holder, someone else is parting with their coins.

This article explains the forces driving Bitcoin demand and those supplying the market using publicly available wallet data, corporate disclosures, and ETF inflows. While demand is coordinated and long-term in nature, the supply side remains fragmented and reactive.

Institutional Appetite: Who’s Accumulating Bitcoin?

Publicly traded companies are stacking Bitcoin at an accelerated pace. Public companies like Strategy lead with 601,550 BTC, valued at approximately $70.3 billion (as of 15 July), now holding nearly 2.8% of the total capped supply. 

MARA follows with 49,179 BTC and Twenty One Capital (XXI) with 37,229 BTC, equivalent to around $4.35 billion. Riot Platforms and Japan’s Metaplanet are also among the top five public companies with a cumulative amount of $3.81 billion listed below:

Collectively, public companies now hold 863,298 BTC, accounting for over 4.11% of the 21 million Bitcoin hard cap.

This rising tide is not confined to corporations alone with sovereign interest in Bitcoin quietly reshaping the global balance sheet.

Nation-States and the Quiet Accumulation Play

Countries like Bhutan and El Salvador have made headlines but these countries are no longer alone. In 2025, government-held Bitcoin totals around 529,705 BTC (~$64.4 billion) or more than 2.5% of BTC’s supply. 

Some of the BTC supply is publicly held by institutions, while other portions are managed through third-party custodians or sovereign wealth intermediaries.

Nation-states’ BTC adoption signals that Bitcoin is not just a hedge, but is now becoming part of reserve strategies.

ETFs Are Dominating the Demand Side of Bitcoin

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have emerged as the most visible demand engine in 2025. As of July 14, 2025, BlackRock’s IBIT leads with 706,008 BTC (over 3.3% of the supply of BTC) and Fidelity’s FBTC holds a total of 207,063 BTC, equivalent to around $25.1 billion, while Grayscale’s GBTC holds 183,748 BTC (~$22.3 billion).

As of July 14, 2025, spot Bitcoin ETFs globally hold 1,447,736 BTC, nearly 7% of the circulating supply, considered an unprecedented figure in the history of Bitcoin markets.

This demand appears consistent, long-term oriented, and largely automated via inflows from financial advisors, retirement funds, and private banks.

Private Companies Continue to Buy & HODL Bitcoin at Growing Levels

Private entities have been less transparent, but collectively, the estimated amount of BTC being held by them is 421,641 BTC or about $51.2 billion in value. Firms like Block.one and Tether contribute to this figure, which has steadily increased alongside Bitcoin’s price.

Public and private companies, ETFs, and countries collectively hold approximately 3,422,926 BTC, equivalent to 16.3% of the capped supply. This number is expected to continue growing.

Who’s Selling Bitcoin in 2025?

The sell-side in this 2025 bull market is no longer dominated by retail traders. Instead, it’s shaped by large-scale miners, tactical ETF rebalancing, and the reemergence of ancient wallets. 

Each brings unique implications for liquidity, risk, and narrative.

Despite a strong demand-side narrative, every purchase has a counterparty. So, who’s selling into this wall of institutional demand?

Miners and ETFs Unloading Bitcoins

Miners have long provided structural sell pressure in Bitcoin’s ecosystem, selling to cover electricity and operational costs. As of mid-July 2025, mining companies collectively hold 104,548 BTC (~$12.7 billion), but this number is gradually falling.

In the above image, CryptoQuant data shows miner balances have declined, falling to 1,810,400 BTC. This isn’t a mass exodus but routine, predictable, and essential for maintaining market liquidity.

ETF Outflows: Tactical Redemptions

While most Bitcoin ETFs continue accumulating BTC, some have seen redemptions earlier in the year. 

Fidelity’s FBTC, now holding over 200,000 BTC, experienced a period of outflows in Q1 but has recently reversed course, adding nearly 1,946 BTC in the past week covering until July 15, 2025. 

Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC shed 501 BTC in the last 7 days.

These redemptions serve a purpose because they release supply back into the market, easing buying pressure at a time when liquidity is thin and long-term holders dominate.

Strategic Bitcoin Sellers in 2025: How Miners, ETFs, and Whales Provide Market Liquidity

Miners offload BTC to finance operations, ETFs adjust holdings through redemptions, and newly awakened whale wallets add sudden, unanticipated supply shocks. These actors form the reactive layer of the market, balancing automated inflows with purposeful outflows. 

It’s not panic-selling, but structured liquidity provision. For now, this fragmented supply is just enough to absorb the tidal wave of demand without sparking vertical price blowouts.

Locked Bitcoin in DeFi

DeFi platforms currently lock 166,330 BTC ($20.2 billion), accounting for about 0.79% of the circulating supply. The majority is wrapped via WBTC on Ethereum, with others distributed across platforms like Thorchain and Stacks.

While not technically “sold,” this Bitcoin is temporarily removed from circulation, amplifying the scarcity effect by reducing liquid float.

Whale Sell-Off Tests Market Depth—but Bitcoin Holds Steady

Bitcoin’s 2025 rally appears to be demand-driven but its sustainability hinges on the market’s ability to absorb that demand without dislocating price stability.

While retail investors remain relatively quiet in direct spot markets, retail participation is visible mainly through ETFs, which continue to draw inflows. Meanwhile, miners and ETFs handle the bulk of daily liquidity needs through measured sales.

However, not all selling is gradual. In July 2025, a single address liquidated approximately 40,000 BTC, worth around $4.7 billion, after holding the BTC for over 14 years. The transaction has since served as a worthy supply shock, one that is being quickly absorbed by market depth across major exchanges.

 A few reasons suggest that the sale has been absorbed without significant disruption include:

• Price stability: Despite 40,000 BTC ($4.7 billion) being offloaded, Bitcoin’s price did not crash and is still trading in the same range ($116k–$119k).
• Order book depth: On Binance and Bybit, where the BTC was reportedly sent, there has been no notable slippage or collapse in order books, which would be expected if liquidity were insufficient.
• No panic selling yet: Price behaviour and on-chain metrics haven’t shown major spikes that would indicate a cascading reaction to the whale exit.

This kind of historic distribution, isolated, deliberate, and high-magnitude, highlights how thinly stretched the available BTC supply has become. The broader structure remains top-heavy, dominated by institutional accumulation and tactical rebalancing, with limited organic distribution from retail participants.

Conclusion

Bitcoin’s 2025 rally is not just a function of euphoric demand but a consequence of structured accumulation facing thinning sell-side liquidity. ETFs, public companies, and even nation-states are aggressively locking up coins, collectively controlling over 16% of the total supply. Yet the market still finds sellers.

The answer lies in routine miner outflows, ETF sentiment, and secondary activity from private holders, who tactically rotate or rebalance. This reactive supply is fragmented, but sufficient, for now, to meet institutional inflows without triggering parabolic price distortion.

As long as ETFs auto-accumulate and miners trickle out coins, Bitcoin’s balance remains precariously intact, supported by scarcity, sustained by recycling liquidity and increasingly shaped by entities with multi-year conviction.

Disclaimer: Figures may vary slightly due to market fluctuations and the timing of publication.

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About the Author

Andrew Kamsky

Andrew Kamsky is a chart analyst and writer with a background in economics and ACCA certification. He has held roles at a Big Four firm, a fintech bank, and a listed bank specializing in currency hedging. His work explores Bitcoin, macro trends, and market structure. Outside finance, he's passionate about music, travel, and neon design.

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