Demand from investors, including large public companies and governments, that open bitcoin reserves, crypto funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
According to a report by cryptocurrency index fund management company Bitwise, large public companies and governments are investing heavily in bitcoin (BTC), and this demand will cause significant capital inflows to the apex coin in the coming years.
The report highlighted that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs registered $36.2 billion in net inflows in 2024, surpassing the early success of the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which revolutionized gold investing. These ETFs reached $125 billion in assets under management (AUM) within 12 months — 20 times faster than GLD. At this rate, bitcoin will outperform gold, with a potential tripling of cash inflows to $100 billion annually by 2027.
In addition to ETFs and wealth management companies, the attractiveness of bitcoin as a reserve asset is growing among public, private companies, and governments. Companies with BTC on their balance sheets currently hold about 1,146,128 BTC worth $125 billion, which is 5.8% of the total BTC supply.
Sovereigns hold a total of 529,705 BTC ($57.8 billion). Here are the top three: The United States has 207,189 BTC, China has 194,000 BTC, and the United Kingdom has 61,000 BTC.
Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon, UXTO Lead Researcher Guillaume Girard, and Research Analyst Will Owens outlined three scenarios: bearish, basic, and bullish.
In the bearish scenario, countries reallocated only 1% of their gold reserves to bitcoin, spurring inflows of $32.3 billion (323,000 BTC or 1.54% of supply). Several US states will set up 10% BTC reserves, adding $6.5 billion, while wealth management platforms will hold 0.1% BTC (worth $60 billion). Public companies will contribute another $58.9 billion.
The baseline scenario assumes a 5% redistribution among states, generating $161.7 billion (1,617,000 BTC or 7.7% of the total supply). The United States will spend up to 30% of its gold and foreign exchange reserves ($19.6 billion), wealth management platforms will allocate 0.5% ($300 billion) to bitcoin, and public companies will double their investments to $117.8 billion.
In the bullish scenario, 10% of the country’s gold will be poured into bitcoin, which will stimulate an inflow of $323.4 billion (3,234,000 BTC or 15.38% of the total coin supply). Adoption by US states will increase to 70% ($45.8 billion), wealth management platforms will distribute 1% ($600 billion), and public companies will raise up to $235.6 billion. Together, these financial injections could exceed $426.9 billion (4,269,000 BTC).
