Bitcoin is mainly owned by individuals, unlike other assets

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https://cryptoast.fr/bitcoin-btc-detenu-particuliers-institutions-river/

This is a uniqueness that other financial assets cannot claim. According to a recent publication on

Its closest rival, gold, is 47.4% held by individuals (excluding jewelry), the majority distributed among large players, namely 38.7% among central banks, and 13.7% for funds and institutional investors (and 0.15% as reserves by companies, excluding industrial use).

Stocks, and especially bonds, are held even less by individuals, with 41.6% and 11.8% of small holders respectively. Their ownership has become institutionalized over time, and is today dominated by investment funds, by governments/central banks and by large corporations.

Despite the meteoric rise of Bitcoin spot ETFs since their first listings in January 2024 and the explosion of corporate treasuries in BTC, it is individual investors who still own the majority of bitcoins. But an institutional shift could take place in the coming years.

For River analysts, as Bitcoin matures, its holdings should gradually shift towards institutions and large players. Its holding structure should therefore more closely resemble that of gold, where central banks, ETFs and large funds concentrate a significant share of global reserves.

Since January 2024, Bitcoin ETFs listed in the United States have already captured more than $57.3 billion in cumulative net inflows according to SoSoValue data, for a total outstanding amount approaching $103 billion. On the corporate treasury side, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) holds a record 848,517 BTC in October 2026. All publicly traded Bitcoin Treasury Companies hold nearly 1.3 million bitcoins, or approximately $103.5 billion at the current price of the king of cryptocurrencies.

To gain exposure to Strategy and other listed companies that hold Bitcoin, a broker like Trade Republic allows you to buy their shares.

This institutional shift, however, raises a major issue, because most BTC spot ETFs use the same custodian, namely Coinbase Custody, as noted by a commentator on River's publication.

The company responded to this remark by recalling that the possibility of self-custody constitutes one of the singularities of Bitcoin. “Not everyone will want to take on this responsibility, but the main thing is that everyone has the opportunity and the training to do self-detention when they need to,” River said.

The percentages put forward by River may also present a methodological limitation. The balances held on the exchanges could potentially be counted as individual holdings in the statistics, even though it is the platforms which control the private keys. The actual share of treasury ownership is therefore perhaps lower than the raw figures suggest. The border between individuals and intermediaries (exchanges) remains porous.

Machine-translated from French