Bitcoin investment by institutions is now a common occurrence. This was not so in the previous years. Institutional investors have been investing in cryptos for a while. But mostly at a conversation rate. 2020 changed all of that. The bull that started in 2020 saw more institutional money coming into the market. Predictions pointed towards continuous growth. And institutions did not want to be left out of the action.
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Funds like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust started upping their stake in cryptocurrencies at this point. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy was buying up bitcoins at an alarming rate. With a CEO bullish on bitcoin, this was no surprise. As Saylor himself has admitted to having a personal stake in the digital asset. With institutional interest rising, it is important at this point to know how many institutional investors own bitcoin.
Institutional Wallets Nearing 10% Of Total Supply
Data shows that institutional investors now own almost 8% of the total supply of bitcoin. The top holders now have hundreds of thousands of bitcoins in their care. While others are catching up. The cumulative total from Bitcoin Treasuries puts the total BTC held by institutional investors at more than 1.6 million bitcoins currently. Accounting for a total of 7.91% of the current BTC supply.
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The total cost basis that these assets were bought at shows institutional investors are currently in the green. Bitcoin Treasuries data put the total cost basis at $53.9 billion. While the value of the BTC held by the institutional investors is currently at $77.8 billion. Meaning that the institutional investors are turning a profit from their investments.
The data also shows that while some institutional investors are negative, the majority of the institutional investors have turned a profit. With some making as much as 97x of their initial investments in the asset.
Institutions Invested In Bitcoin
A total of 61 institutional investors were compiled that have invested in Bitcoin. Some institutional investors had only invested in as low as 2 bitcoins. While others have invested in the hundreds of thousands.
Of all the institutional investors, Grayscale led the charge with a whopping 654,885 bitcoins currently held by the trust. Its BTC holdings make up 118% of the total market cap of the trust. MacroStrategy, a subsidiary of MicroStrategy under which bitcoins are purchased, currently holds 108,991. With a cost basis of $2.9 billion. And a current value of $5.1 billion. Showing that the company has already made over 100% gains on its initial investment.
BTC market cap just shy of $900 billion | Source: Market Cap BTC on TradingView.com
An interesting fact is the government of Bulgaria currently holds one of the largest pots for institutional investors. Bulgaria holds 213,519 bitcoins, which were bought at a cost basis of $3.3 billion. The value of the coins at present is $10 billion. Indicating that the government of Bulgaria has already made 300% gains on its initial BTC investment.
Featured image from Easy Crypto, chart from TradingView.com