Institutions Are the New Whales

Retail may have birthed $Bitcoin, but institutions are now running the show. Bitwise analysts Matt Hougan, Ryan Rasmussen, Josh Carlisle, Mallika Kolar, Andre Dragosch, and Juan Leon note that over 75% of Coinbase’s trading volume now comes from institutions. That’s Wall Street, pensions, and corporate treasuries, not Reddit day traders.

And the flows are staggering. Demand is outstripping new supply six to one. Daily mining produces ~450 $BTC, while institutions have been known to yank 2,500 BTC in just 48 hours. The math isn’t subtle: supply and demand are on a collision course.

Corporate adoption underscores this shift: 35 publicly traded firms now hold over 1,000 $BTC each, up from 24 earlier this year. Corporate purchases surged 35% in Q2 2025 alone, jumping from 99,857 $BTC to 134,456 $BTC.

And then there’s MicroStrategy — still the apex predator. Michael Saylor’s firm added again in August, bringing its holdings to 632,457 $BTC worth $71 billion. They’re sitting on $25 billion in unrealized gains, a 53% paper profit.