Data Shows More Than 1 Million Bitcoin Addresses Now Hold 1+ BTC Amid Institutions Loading Up

According to data from Bitcoin Magazine Pro the number of addresses holding one Bitcoin or more has just surpassed 1 million. These numbers are impressive to say the least, given there are only ever going to be 21 million BTC in total. Which, if these holders are real HODLers, takes at least 1 million of the supply off the market, potentially for a very long time.

This comes at a time when institutions are moving into crypto with bags of Fiat just waiting to be converted to crypto. As reported earlier, institutions including governments, DeFi and smart contracts, public and private companies as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other funds now hold around 10% of BTC supply.

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Not only that, but BTC held by the recently approved US Spot Bitcoin ETFs also account for a sizable chunk of the current Bitcoin supply. The two largest crypto funds globally, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC funds, combined hold an eye-watering 2.5% of total BTC.

And all US Bitcoin ETFs combined are now poised to even overtake Satoshi Nakamoto’s stack. As Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas noted on X, the funds hold a combined 909,700 BTC, making it the second largest holder after the enigmatic Bitcoin founder.

ETFs, Institutions Drive Adoption

Undoubtedly, since the US Spot ETFs have been approved, interest in BTC – and to some extent ETH – is increasing among institutional investors. If custody in a cold wallet had been a deterrent for many investors in the past, the new funds now offer no excuse not to ape into crypto – even if it’s with a small allocation.

Be it large US pension funds allocating some of their assets into crypto or Michael Saylor and his MicroStrategy (MSTR) loading up on Bitcoin, it seems that few large firms are denying BTC its place in a well-rounded portfolio. In fact, Saylor’s way of investing – loading up on BTC that is – has already found imitators.

Related: Arkham: $1.95 Billion in Bitcoin Mobilised from Mt. Gox Wallet in Anticipation of Creditor Payouts

Japan’s Metaplanet appears to be one of the first listed companies that have taken notes from MSTR and started making Bitcoin part of their investment strategy. Most recently, the Japanese firm added another 57.1 BTC worth AU$5.25 million bringing their total holdings to 303.095 BTC.

This aligns Metaplanet and MicroStrategy with other big players, like MARA and Semler Scientific who are loading up on the OG crypto.