Who Really Owns Bitcoin? The $2.05 Trillion Power Play Behind BTC’s Biggest Holders
Bitcoin’s market cap just blasted past $2 trillion—again. But who’s holding the keys to the kingdom?
Whales, institutions, and shadowy Satoshi-era wallets control staggering chunks of the supply. Meanwhile, retail traders fight over crumbs like it’s a Black Friday sale at Coinbase.
The irony? The ’decentralized’ asset is more concentrated than a hedge fund manager’s martini.
- Bitcoin’s market cap approaches $2.05T, with its price surging past $103,000, marking a major bullish milestone.
- Institutional investors control 68% of Bitcoin’s supply, while retail and liquidity providers hold significant shares.
- Bitcoin’s Realized Cap has surged by nearly $30B since April, signaling steady growth despite slower pace than 2024.
Bitcoin’s market has evidence of further strengthening, as its total market capitalization is approaching $2.05 trillion. Currently, the cryptocurrency is being traded for over $103,000 per coin, setting an important milestone. Based on the recent data of the analytical platform Santiment, there are three major groups of BTC’s supply that tend to emphasize its distribution between retail investors, institutions, and liquidity providers.
Source: X
The breakdown of Bitcoin’s total supply shows high concentration into the hands of institutional and liquidity investors. The retail investors who have less than 10 BTC hold 3.47 million coins, representing 17.5% of the supply. On the other hand, the institutional holders have 13.5 million BTC (68% of the supply) between 10 to 10,000 BTC. Aggregate liquidity providers are holding 2.87 million BTC, which is almost 14.5% of the total supply, for more than 10,000 BTC.
Bitcoin Realized Cap Growth
Glassnode, a top on-chain analytics platform, also posted highlights on BTC’s Realized Cap, which has spectacularly risen by close to $30 billion since April, after a period of stagnation. This increase, which is increasing at an incremental rate of about 3% a month, indicates an improvement in capital flows into the market. This growth, however, is still lower than the aggressive accumulation that was observed in the months of November and December, 2024, when the price of Bitcoin stood at $93,000.
Source: X
Although slower than the 8% seen at the end of 2024, this steady rise in Realized Cap suggests a continued belief among the investors and new capital entering the market. Analysts are keen for a better future for BTC despite the slower rate of growth, as new investments are still being made in it.
Bullish BTC Market Dynamics
Additionally, the bullish sentiment was enforced by Glassnode reporting high change in BTC market dynamics. The 7-day simple moving average (SMA) of Bitcoin’s Spot Volume Delta also went positive and peaked at almost $5 billion on May 13. This flush of net spot buyer demand shows resolute conviction in the spot market, proving that both institutional and retail investors have driven BTC’s uptrend beyond the crucial $100,000 resistance level.
Source: Glassnode
Although the growth of the Realized Cap is still below its past highs, the market sentiment is extremely bullish. While bitcoin continues to gain retail and institutional demand, the price continues to look good for further increases, indicating that the bullish trend is here to stay for some time.
Read More: Bitcoin’s Bullish Momentum Faces Setback: How Trade Deals Impact BTC
