Report: Major Entities Hold Over 4 Million Bitcoin, Accounting for 27% of Supply

The latest Glassnode onchain report reveals that major labeled entities collectively hold approximately 4.23 million bitcoin, representing over 27% of the adjusted circulating supply. This significant concentration of BTC holdings underscores the prominent role these entities play within the bitcoin ecosystem.

Institutional Holdings: ETFs, Miners, Government, and Exchanges Control 4.23 Million Bitcoin

According to Glassnode’s latest onchain study, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are among the largest holders, commanding a balance of 862,000 BTC. The U.S. government and the Mt Gox Trustee follow with 207,000 BTC and 141,000 BTC, respectively. Additionally, all exchanges collectively hold about 2.3 million BTC, while miners, excluding Satoshi Nakamoto, maintain a balance of 706,000 BTC.

The Glassnode report highlights the dynamics within the ETF market, noting that the cash-and-carry trade structure significantly influences ETF inflows. This strategy, involving a long spot position via ETFs and a short position in CME Group futures, has led to a stable open interest above $8 billion in CME futures markets. Researchers suggest that hedge funds are increasingly adopting this arbitrage strategy, contributing to the robust demand for bitcoin ETFs.

Source: Glassnode’s Week Onchain report – Week 24.

The report also details a recent divergence in onchain activity metrics. While the number of active addresses has declined, transaction counts have reached near all-time highs. This discrepancy is attributed to the advent of the Runes protocol, which utilizes address reuse, resulting in multiple transactions from singular addresses. The protocol has gained popularity since its launch, displacing other token protocols like BRC20 tokens and Ordinal inscriptions, now accounting for 57.2% of daily transactions.

Despite the inflows into bitcoin ETFs, market prices have remained relatively neutral, indicating that organic buy-side demand is essential for further price appreciation. The Glassnode report concludes that while these institutional and onchain activities are pivotal, broader market dynamics and investor behavior will continue to shape bitcoin’s price trajectory.

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