Rising Bitcoin accumulation among wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC may point to sustained interest from US institutional investors.
CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said Tuesday that institutional demand for Bitcoin “remains strong,” noting that roughly 577,000 BTC have been added to this wallet cohort, which includes exchange-traded funds, over the past year, and that inflows are continuing.
“Excluding exchanges and miners, this gives a rough read on institutional demand.”
CryptoQuant said the increase represents roughly 33% growth over the past 24 months, a period that coincides with the launch of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded a combined $1.2 billion in net inflows so far this year, even as Bitcoin itself has risen about 6%. Commenting on the trend, political economist Crypto Seth said institutional involvement in Bitcoin and Ethereum is still in its early stages. “Institutions are only just beginning to invest,” he said, adding that the scale of adoption in the 2030–2040 period remains hard for most people to imagine.
DAT holdings jump 30% in six months
Part of the accumulation may also be driven by the rise of digital asset treasuries. Crypto DATs, led by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, have acquired around 260,000 BTC since July, worth approximately $24 billion at current prices.
Glassnode reported that this represents a 30% increase over the past six months, outpacing new supply from miners. Collectively, digital asset treasuries now hold more than 1.1 million BTC.
Retail sentiment slips back into fear
In contrast, retail investor sentiment has weakened in recent months. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index fell back into “fear” territory this week, registering a score of 32 out of 100 on Tuesday. This followed a brief move into “greed” last week, the first such reading since October.
The shift in sentiment comes as Bitcoin pulled back from last week’s high near $97,000 to below $92,000 on Tuesday morning, amid market concerns over escalating trade tensions between the United States and Europe.
