Shocking Report: 30% of Bitcoin’s Supply Controlled by Centralized Entities – Gemini Sounds the Alarm

Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos takes a hit as Gemini reveals nearly a third of its supply sits in centralized hands. The crypto world braces for impact.

Who’s holding the reins? Institutional players and exchanges are quietly amassing BTC, turning Satoshi’s peer-to-peer vision into Wall Street’s playground. The irony isn’t lost on anyone—except maybe the hedge funds now treating Bitcoin like just another asset to hoard.

Market implications? Price volatility could get even wilder when whales control this much of the float. Remember when crypto was supposed to democratize finance? Neither do we.

While no one holds a candle to the amount of bitcoin held by exchanges, it’s surprising (and yet also not surprising, if you know what I mean?) that public companies are the most numerous. 

Yep, you read that right, 101 companies. 

Those firms hold a total of 765,300 bitcoins, which is a hefty amount, but they are still only third behind ETF/Funds, which hold 1.3 million bitcoins. Exchanges easily take the lead with over 3 million bitcoin. 

“Across nearly all institutional categories — excluding private companies — the top three entities control between 65% to 90% of total holdings, underscoring the dominance of early adopters in the Bitcoin treasury space,” the report said. 

“This pattern is particularly stark in the DeFi, public company, and ETF/fund categories, where pioneers have shaped the early trajectory of adoption.”

There is a bit of a shift happening behind the scenes as well, where exchanges and also DeFi protocols are seeing their balances decline overall. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, because the report notes that the shift is moving the bitcoin over to ETFs and funds as they gain popularity. 

“The total bitcoin held by this spot trading sector has remained relatively stable, ranging between 3.9M-4.2M BTC since June 2021. This stable range suggests that the drop in exchange balances does not imply shrinking supply, but rather a structural reshuffling of custody,” it said.

Times have changed, but I’m not mad about this development. Though we could, perhaps, do with fewer bitcoin treasury companies if you ask me.

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