U.S. Dominates Bitcoin Ownership: 40% of Global Supply Held Stateside

The U.S. isn’t just mining dollars—it’s hoarding Bitcoin. Fresh data reveals America controls a staggering 40% of the world’s BTC supply, turning crypto’s decentralized dream into a Wall Street inventory report.

How the West Was HODL’d

Forget gold reserves or Treasury bonds. The real power move? Stacking Satoshis. U.S. institutions and whales now hold nearly half the planet’s Bitcoin—while regulators still pretend they’re ‘evaluating risks.’

Bullish or Bull-ish?

This isn’t your anarchocapitalist’s Bitcoin anymore. With 40% stateside, the ‘digital gold’ narrative looks more like Fort Knox 2.0—complete with the same old concentration risks. (But hey, at least the custodians wear hoodies now.)

Bitcoin ownership by categoryBitcoin ownership by category At $120,000 per BTC valuation, the U.S. holdings are valued at roughly $936 billion. While bitcoin trades lower than this valuation, this figure reflects an increasing adoption through regulated products like Bitcoin ETFs. For context, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $6.02 billion in July, making it the third best month after February and November 2024. Additionally, U.S.-based companies account for the top six of the public companies holding significant amounts of Bitcoin on their balance sheets. Strategy ranks first, holding 628,791 BTC. Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) follows with 50,000 BTC, while XXI Capital holds 43,514 BTC.  Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company owns 30,021 BTC, and Riot Platforms maintains 19,225 BTC. Notably, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. also holds 18,430 BTC, highlighting growing corporate interest in digital assets across various sectors. India Bitcoin Holdings Rank Second with Retail-Driven Growth India holds 1 million BTC, accounting for 5.1% of the total supply. While the country's regulatory environment remains uncertain, its user base continues to expand rapidly. Most Indian holders are retail investors with small average balances. Still, the country's volume places it ahead of Europe, China, and other global regions. India's Bitcoin holdings are valued at $120 billion based on the same price assumption.  Europe, China, Latin America, and Asia Trail Behind in Bitcoin Control Notably, Europe holds an estimated 900,000 BTC, or 4.6% of the supply, worth $108 billion. The region shows a mix of retail and institutional ownership, though it remains behind India in total volume. Fred opines that the continent is not significantly involved in comparison to the U.S. Meanwhile, the Chinese government holds around 194,000 BTC, or 1% of the total. These coins were seized and are mostly dormant. The value of these holdings is estimated at $23.3 billion. Latin America and Asia (excluding India and China) each hold about 400,000 BTC (2.1%). Their holdings, valued at $48 billion each, are attributed mainly to strong grassroots usage. Meanwhile, Africa and other regions combine for 300,000 BTC, representing 1.5% of the total.  Dormant and Lost Bitcoin Reduces Active Supply A significant portion of Bitcoin is no longer in active circulation. An estimated 3 million BTC (15.4%) is believed to be permanently lost, which could be due to misplaced private keys or inactive wallets. Meanwhile, Satoshi Nakamoto’s known wallets contain 1.1 million BTC (5.6%), which have never moved. These coins are assumed to be inaccessible.  Another 1.5 million BTC (7.7%) have remained dormant for over 10 years, likely held by early adopters. Together, these three categories account for about 28.7% of the total supply, severely limiting available liquidity. An additional 1 million BTC (5.1%) is held by unattributed custodians, including exchange wallets and over-the-counter (OTC) pools. Third parties control these coins and are not directly attributed to individual users.