Fresh on‑chain data maps Bitcoin’s holdings across major entities, revealing a key market truth: much of BTC is locked away, shrinking the liquid, tradable supply.
1. CEX – Tier 1: The De‑Facto Institutional Vault
With 1.68M BTC, Tier‑1 exchanges dominate. But this isn’t just retail — large portions belong to spot ETFs like BlackRock IBIT and Fidelity FBTC, plus corporates such as MicroStrategy, all custodied via Coinbase Prime. This hides huge institutional reserves under the Tier‑1 label, making its inflow/outflow data the best proxy for institutional sentiment.
2. Historic / Special Label: The Untouchable Supply
1.096M BTC sits in dormant wallets, notably the “Patoshi” set linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. Unmoved for over a decade, these coins deepen Bitcoin’s structural scarcity.
3. The Broader Ecosystem
Mining Pools: 667K BTC, potential ongoing sell pressure.
CEX – Other Tiers: 557K BTC, secondary liquidity hubs.
Miscellaneous/Uncategorized: 458K BTC, fragmented holders.
Brokerage & Financial Services: 154K BTC, smaller custody role.
Institutional & Custodian: 9.4K BTC — low due to reclassification under Tier‑1 CEXs.
Defunct Exchanges: 0 BTC, confirming dataset integrity.
📌 Takeaway
Tradable supply is far smaller than total supply. For real institutional flow signals, watch Tier‑1 exchange reserves — that’s where the big money quietly sits.
Written by CryptoOnchain
