Institutional BTC holdings reach an all-time high, when will the price break ATH?

Institutions like BlackRock and Metaplanet are actively increasing their Bitcoin holdings, signaling bullish trends. However, due to tariff issues and selling pressure from large holders, the BTC price remains below the all-time high (ATH). What do analysts think about this?

According to the latest data from SosoValue, the assets managed by BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF have reached $77.62 billion, indicating that the institution now controls 3.5% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Notably, BlackRock has surpassed MicroStrategy in less than two years to become the second largest Bitcoin holder after Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out that at the current pace of accumulating 40,000 Bitcoins per month, BlackRock is expected to achieve a milestone of holding over 1.2 million Bitcoins by May 2026.

Meanwhile, the Japanese listed company Metaplanet has also set a new record for Bitcoin holdings. The company recently disclosed that it purchased 2,205 Bitcoins for $238.7 million, bringing its total holdings to 15,555 Bitcoins. According to BitcoinTreasuries, Metaplanet has entered the ranks of the top five institutional holders globally.

Additionally, several listed companies, including MARA Holdings and Semler Scientific, are also expanding their Bitcoin allocations, demonstrating ongoing interest from institutional investors in digital assets.

In stark contrast to the continuous accumulation by institutions, although BTC saw an increase of over 2.3% yesterday, it has still not been able to break the historical high of $111,900.

Market analysis suggests that this phenomenon is primarily constrained by two factors: firstly, the macro impact of Trump’s tariffs on 14 countries, which took effect on August 1, causing a decrease in market preference for risk assets; secondly, the continued selling pressure from early large holders, with data showing that “Bitcoin whales” have sold over 500,000 BTC in the past year, equivalent in scale to ETF net inflows.

Observers note that Bitcoin is at a critical juncture of old and new capital: on one hand, institutional funds like ETFs are continuously entering the market on a large scale; on the other hand, the profit-taking pressure from early investors remains. This supply and demand tug-of-war keeps prices oscillating within a range.

However, the rising proportion of institutional holdings may reshape market pricing, but in the short term, macro policy risks and whale selling remain key factors that the market needs to digest and that affect price trends.

#BTC #ATH