Most Bitcoin Still Belongs to Individuals, but Institutions Are Catching Up: Research
River’s research estimates that as of Aug. 25, 2025, individuals hold about 65.9% of BTC (13.83 million coins).
Funds and ETFs control about 7.8% of supply; businesses hold 6.2% and governments control 1.5%.
River says the distribution is inferred from filings, address tagging and prior research. In other words, it is an estimate, not an on-chain census.
River says individuals still own the majority of bitcoin.
The U.S.-based bitcoin financial services firm revealed ownership distribution research dated Aug. 25 in a recent post on X. The study groups bitcoin supply into a few categories and shows the market share of each, using public filings, custodial address tagging and earlier blockchain research.
River estimates individuals control about 65.9% of circulating BTC, or 13.83 million coins. This bucket includes self-custodied wallets and exchange accounts that River classifies as individual.
On the institutional side, River divides holdings into businesses, ETFs and funds.
Businesses — a global category covering corporate treasuries and conventional firms that report bitcoin holdings — account for about 6.2% of supply, or 1.30 million BTC.
ETFs and funds — spot ETFs and investment vehicles that custody coins for clients — control about 7.8%, or 1.63 million BTC.
Governments are shown at about 1.5%, or 306,000 BTC, based on sovereign addresses tracked from public sources.
Two special categories round out the distribution:
Lost bitcoin makes up about 7.6%, or 1.58 million BTC. River says this is inferred from age heuristics, which show coins that have not moved for many years and are likely unrecoverable.
Satoshi/Patoshi holdings are pegged at about 4.6%, or 968,000 BTC, based on earlier research into early-era mining patterns.
Read more on freedomsphoenix.com
