Bitcoin ETFs Reach 1-Year Anniversary: Is Big Money in Control of BTC?

• Bitcoin ETFs have acquired 5.74% of BTC’s circulating supply since Jan. 11, 2024.
• An estimated 152 major international entities (governments, companies, etc.) own a 14.04% share of Bitcoin’s total supply, or approximately 2.95 million BTC.
• Between 3 to 4 million BTC tokens have been lost or forgotten, roughly 19% of the total supply.

There’s an odd sense of irony that the greatest (recent) success of crypto was the launch of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which opened the floodgates to billions of dollars of eager institutional capital.

It’s striking that a growing supply of a decentralized asset, touted as the answer to centralized finance control and greed, is being hoovered up by extremely powerful entities.

Over 150 major centralized entities are soaking up BTC. As per data provided by BitcoinTreasuries, they collectively own around 14% of Bitcoin’s 21 million token supply.

These are public and private companies, governments, ETFs, mining firms, and various areas of decentralized finance (DeFi.).

ETFs and ETPs

U.S. spot BTC ETFs and other BTC exchange-traded products (ETPs) from around the world own just over 6%  of Bitcoin’s supply. U.S.-based BTC ETFs have become the dominant force in less than a year, representing 5.74%  of this figure, commanding an enormous $106.82 billion.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) alone controls $52.46 billion, or 2.82% of BTC’s total supply. The second and third-best-performing ETFs, Grayscale and Fidelity, hold just over 1%, respectively.

It’s unlikely that 2025’s cumulative net inflows will be as high as the first year’s, but if appetite remains high, their U.S. spot BTC ETFs could collectively become the biggest holders of Bitcoin in a few years.

Companies and Countries

MicroStrategy commands a 447,470 BTC  stash. That’s worth over $42 billion at today’s price of $94,700, representing approximately 2.13% of Bitcoin’s supply.

It’s the largest company holding Bitcoin. It’s followed by dozens of mining firms, exchanges, investment firms, and others who are increasingly adding BTC to their company’s balance sheet.

The U.S. Government is estimated to possess at least 198,109 BTC  worth $18.53 billion.

The gigantic stash, comprised of tokens confiscated in criminal or similar cases, has seen small offloads through auctions, though with plans to establish a national Bitcoin Reserve, the Fed under Donald Trump may prefer to HODL.

The government of El Salvador has made Bitcoin part of its economic policy and has committed to purchasing 1 BTC every day.

The strategy has yielded 107.68% gains since it began in 2021. El Salvador currently presides over 6,023 BTC  worth $571 million.

If the rumors of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) having 420,000 BTC are true, it would be—by far—the wealthiest Bitcoin-holding nation.

With Russia legitimizing Bitcoin mining companies and Donald Trump pledging to make the U.S. the mining capital of the world, the race to dominate BTC is on.

Supply and Demand

As per BitInfoCharts, just under 2% of BTC wallets  own more than 90% of all BTC in circulation. Today, just four addresses own 100,000 to 1 million BTC.

The 93 largest owners who own 10,000 to 100,000 BTC command a total of almost 2.3 million BTC.

As evidenced by the rapid consumption of Bitcoin’s supply by the wealthiest entities on Earth, the world’s first decentralized currency is facing a centralization problem.

The implications of this aren’t exactly clear. However, as we know, with BTC, high demand yields higher prices, and if multi-billion dollar entities continue at this pace, retail investors may be completely priced out of the Bitcoin market.

Make no mistake—Bitcoin’s supply is becoming centralized, though to what extent remains unclear.

As its price now hovers above and below the $100,000 mark, BTC is increasingly recognized as one of the world’s most valuable and powerful assets to hold.

In short, big money isn’t in control of crypto, but it apparently wants to be.