Bitwise: 69% of Bitcoin supply is held by individuals, with institutional holdings lagging behind

ChainCatcher news, according to Beincrypto, Bitwise Asset Management reports that individual holders control the majority of the total supply of Bitcoin. Of the 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, 69.4% belong to private investors. Given this concentration of Bitcoin ownership among individuals, large institutions and governments may face challenges in acquiring Bitcoin.

Bitwise outlined the distribution of Bitcoin's total supply. Aside from individual holders, approximately 7.5% of Bitcoin is considered lost. Funds and ETPs control 6.1% of Bitcoin. Wallets associated with Bitcoin's anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto hold 4.6% of Bitcoin. Additionally, governments and corporations combined hold only 5.8% of Bitcoin.

Bitwise emphasizes that if companies and governments wish to acquire Bitcoin, they primarily need to purchase from individuals willing to sell. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley also pointed out that despite continuous buying by corporations and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin's price still faces downward pressure. He further emphasized that the majority of Bitcoin's value remains in the hands of individual holders.

Meanwhile, only 5.7% of Bitcoin remains to be mined. Furthermore, there are very few Bitcoins left in the OTC market. A cryptocurrency analyst noted that there are only about 140,000 Bitcoins remaining in the OTC market.