Centralized Treasuries Control Nearly 31% of BTC Supply as Institutional Adoption Surges

• Centralized treasuries, including ETFs and corporations, control 30.9% of the Bitcoin supply.
• Centralized exchanges and ETFs handle over 75% of BTC’s adjusted transfer volume.
• Strategic BTC Reserve could generate a $25 market cap expansion for every $1 invested.

Centralized treasuries now control 30.9% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply, according to a new report from Gemini and Glassnode. This includes holdings by governments, exchange-traded funds, and public companies that have adopted Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset over recent years.

The data shows how Bitcoin has changed from a primarily on-chain market to a mainstream asset class integrated into traditional financial systems. Corporate treasuries have increasingly purchased Bitcoin for long-term holding strategies, while institutional investors continue launching new products that track Bitcoin price movements. 

Centralized Platforms Dominate Trading Activity

Beyond holdings, centralized platforms have captured the majority of Bitcoin trading activity. Centralized exchanges, U.S. spot cryptocurrency ETFs, and regulated derivatives platforms now account for more than 75% of Bitcoin’s adjusted transfer volume. This represents a substantial increase from previous years when on-chain activity comprised a larger portion of total volume.

This shift toward centralized infrastructure has coincided with reduced price volatility across all timeframes. The report notes that annualized realized volatility has declined consistently since 2018 as adoption has broadened, particularly among sovereign entities and regulated financial institutions. While Bitcoin remains a risk-on asset, its integration into traditional finance has created more consistent price action with less influence from speculative extremes.

The volatility reduction suggests institutional participation has provided stabilizing effects on Bitcoin markets. Large-scale holders usually invest for the long term and avoid making quick, reactive trades like retail investors. This contributes to smoother price movements and reduced susceptibility to sudden market swings.

Trump’s Executive Order Added Legitimacy To Bitcoin

President Trump’s March executive order to establish a working group for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has given official government sanction to Bitcoin adoption at the sovereign level. The report discusses potential impacts of such strategic reserves and argues that sovereign allocators can have a significant market impact through their Bitcoin buys.

According to the analysis, for every $1 invested by sovereign allocators like the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, up to $25 of short-term market capitalization growth could be unlocked. The multiplier effect is realized through supply dynamics as well as market psychology. This is because institutional purchases, being significant, will compel other market stakeholders to make additional purchases in an effort to front-run institutional purchases.

Related: Bitcoin’s Long-Term Holders Show Record Conviction and Are Not Taking Profits

Long-term structural value creation is less upbeat yet also optimistic, with approximately $1.70 of value creation for every dollar of sovereign investment. This implies that while the short-term market response may be exaggerated, long-term price appreciation requires higher mainstream usage and utility creation, rather than speculative demand.

The degree of Bitcoin ownership by centralized players is a threat to the decentralization values that initially drove the creation of cryptocurrency. However, institutional adoption also brings legitimacy and infrastructure development, which could support broader Bitcoin integration into mainstream financial systems.