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River’s research estimates BTC ownership at 65.9% for individuals, 7.8% for funds, 6.2% for businesses and 1.5% for governments. About 7.6% is believed lost.
By Siamak Masnavi, AI Boost|Edited by Aoyon Ashraf
Updated Aug 30, 2025, 5:07 p.m. Published Aug 30, 2025, 5:04 p.m.
- River’s research estimates that as of Aug. 25, 2025, individuals hold about 65.9% of BTC (13.83 million coins).
- Funds and ETFs control about 7.8% of supply; businesses 6.2% and governments control 1.5%.
- River says the distribution is inferred from filings, address tagging and prior research. In other words, it is an estimate, not an on-chain census.
River says individuals still own the majority of bitcoin.
The U.S.-based bitcoin financial services firm revealed ownership distribution research dated Aug. 25, 2025 in a recent post on X. The study groups supply into categories and shows the share River attributes to each, using public filings, custodial address tagging and earlier blockchain research.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
River estimates individuals control about 65.9% of circulating BTC, or 13.83 million coins. This bucket includes self-custodied wallets and exchange accounts River classifies as individual.
On the institutional side, River divides holdings into businesses and ETFs and funds.
- Businesses — a global category covering corporate treasuries and conventional firms that report bitcoin holdings — account for about 6.2% of supply, or 1.30 million BTC.
- ETFs and funds — spot ETFs and investment vehicles that custody coins for clients — control about 7.8%, or 1.63 million BTC.
Governments are shown at about 1.5%, or 306,000 BTC, based on sovereign addresses River tracks from public sources.
Two special categories round out the distribution:
- Lost bitcoin makes up about 7.6%, or 1.58 million BTC. River says this is inferred from age heuristics showing coins that have not moved for many years and are likely unrecoverable.
- Satoshi/Patoshi holdings are pegged at about 4.6%, or 968,000 BTC, based on earlier research into early-era mining patterns.
Finally, about 5.2% of the supply, or 1.09 million BTC, has yet to be mined before the hard cap of 21 million is reached.
In plain terms, River’s research is an attempt to map who holds bitcoin today, not to forecast future prices. The estimates are not definitive, since custodians aggregate many clients, some wallets are misclassified and ownership can be opaque.
River’s conclusion is that individuals still dominate holdings, but the institutional share is expanding, helped by the growth of ETFs and companies that now treat bitcoin as a balance-sheet asset.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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By Siamak Masnavi, AI Boost|Edited by Aoyon Ashraf
2 hours ago
River’s new flow map suggests companies absorb around 1,755 BTC per day versus approximately 450 mined, with funds and ETFs adding more demand.
What to know:
- River’s Aug. 25 infographic shows businesses (treasuries + conventional firms) absorbing about 1,755 BTC/day.
- New issuance is about 450 BTC/day in 2025, meaning companies are taking in nearly 4x miner supply.
- Funds and spot ETFs add another 1,430 BTC/day, pushing institutional demand even higher.
