Wall Street Wants the 66% You Refuse to Sell 🪙

Individuals still control roughly 13.9 million $BTC, about 66% of the 21 million coins that will ever exist, according to Bitbo and River data compiled by Motley Fool, even as Wall Street escalates its accumulation campaign. As of October 9, spot Bitcoin ETFs held 1.48 million BTC, publicly traded and private companies controlled another 1.66 million, and governments held approximately 518,500. Together, those institutional and sovereign treasuries accounted for around 17% of Bitcoin's maximum supply, leaving the remainder split between an estimated 1.6 million lost coins and roughly 968,000 BTC in wallets attributed to Bitcoin's anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

The balance of power is shifting gradually. River data shows individuals sold a net 696,000 BTC in 2025, while businesses, investment funds, and governments purchased nearly one million coins over the same period. With Bitcoin trading near $83,000, that redistribution suggests institutional buyers may eventually need to increase bids to coax existing holders out of their positions.

Maintaining those corporate treasuries is proving costly. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, holds roughly 848,000 BTC but disclosed it drew $142.5 million from its dollar reserve for dividends and interest during the week ending October 4. The company also spent $73.7 million repurchasing preferred shares between October 1 and 4, a sum that dwarfs its latest Bitcoin addition of just 334 BTC acquired for $28.7 million. Japan's Metaplanet disclosed a different playbook: it sold 10,000 BTC and repurchased 11,000 during the third quarter to demonstrate liquidity. The firm now holds 44,000 BTC and has capped Bitcoin exposure to 85%–90% of its assets.

Together, the figures show institutional demand remains robust while the supply controlled by individual holders continues to dictate the terms of who pays whom in the next leg of the market.