Bitcoin Ownership Distribution in 2025
A recent study by River, a U.S.-based bitcoin financial services firm, has mapped out the global ownership of Bitcoin as of August 25, 2025. The research, shared in a post on X, provides estimates based on public filings, address tagging, and prior blockchain analysis.
Image: A pizza slice metaphor illustrating bitcoin ownership distribution (Unsplash/Diana Krotova)
Key Findings
- Individuals hold the largest share at 65.9% of circulating BTC, equivalent to approximately 13.83 million coins. This includes self-custodied wallets and exchange accounts classified as individual holdings.
- Institutions are gaining ground:
- ETFs and funds control about 7.8% of the supply, or 1.63 million BTC, driven by spot ETFs and investment vehicles.
- Businesses, including corporate treasuries, account for 6.2% (1.30 million BTC).
- Governments hold around 1.5% (306,000 BTC), based on tracked sovereign addresses.
- Lost bitcoin is estimated at 7.6% (1.58 million BTC), inferred from coins that haven't moved in years and are likely unrecoverable.
- Satoshi/Patoshi holdings make up 4.6% (968,000 BTC), based on early mining patterns.
- The remaining 5.2% (1.09 million BTC) is yet to be mined before the 21 million hard cap is reached.
Infographic: River's ownership estimates as of August 25, 2025
It's important to note that these figures are estimates, not definitive on-chain data, due to factors like custodial aggregation and wallet misclassification. The research highlights that while individuals still dominate, institutional ownership is expanding, fueled by the growth of ETFs and corporate adoption of Bitcoin as a balance-sheet asset.
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