Executive Summary
The Story So Far
Why This Matters
Who Thinks What?
Private businesses and public companies are acquiring Bitcoin at a rate nearly four times faster than new coins are being mined, signaling a potential supply shock for the cryptocurrency, according to a report by Bitcoin financial services company River. These entities collectively purchased an average of 1,755 BTC per day in 2025, significantly outpacing the approximately 450 new BTC produced daily by miners. This trend, coupled with dwindling exchange reserves, has prompted analysts to speculate about its impact on Bitcoin’s price.
Growing Institutional Demand
The absorption rate extends beyond just private and public businesses. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investment vehicles added an average of 1,430 BTC per day to their holdings in 2025, while governments acquired about 39 BTC daily. This aggregated demand means that the total absorption of Bitcoin by various institutional and corporate entities vastly outstrips the daily supply from mining.
This persistent demand is contributing to a significant reduction in Bitcoin’s liquidity on exchanges. Bitcoin exchange reserves, which represent the total amount of BTC held on trading platforms, have reached multi-year lows. This “HODL” behavior by institutions, where they acquire and hold onto their coins rather than selling, further tightens the available supply in the market.
Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries
Corporate treasuries are accumulating substantial amounts of Bitcoin. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, Bitcoin treasury companies acquired 159,107 BTC, bringing the total amount held by businesses to approximately 1.3 million BTC, as reported by River. This demonstrates a growing trend of integrating Bitcoin into corporate balance sheets.
Leading this corporate accumulation is Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which holds the largest known Bitcoin treasury with 632,457 BTC. Despite its aggressive buying, Strategy’s corporate treasury officer, Shirish Jajodia, asserts that the company’s purchases do not influence short-term Bitcoin prices. Jajodia explained that Strategy spreads out its buying through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, which occur off-exchange and therefore do not directly impact spot markets or price movements.
Market Implications
The accelerating rate of Bitcoin absorption relative to its mining output has fueled speculation among market analysts. Many believe that this imbalance could trigger a significant supply shock. Should exchange reserves continue to shrink and institutional holding persist, some analysts predict that this supply crunch will act as a strong bullish catalyst for Bitcoin’s price.
The ongoing trend of businesses and institutions absorbing Bitcoin at a rate far exceeding its production highlights a maturing market with robust demand. As supply tightens and exchange reserves diminish, the cryptocurrency market may be entering a transformative period, with the potential for significant price movements driven by fundamental supply-demand dynamics.
