Bitcoin captured by companies: towards a crypto oligopoly?

Companies have acquired 157,000 BTC since the beginning of 2025, according to a recent study. They far exceed ETFs (49,000 BTC) and governments (19,000 BTC), while individuals have sold 247,000 BTC.

In 2025, companies are emerging as the main buyers of bitcoin, having already outbid individuals and ETFs, according to a recent study. This strategic shift, which is seeing private firms massively accumulate BTC, is placing the cryptocurrency, designed for decentralization, back into the hands of centralized actors. But as the crypto queen is being captured, can she still embody a popular alternative in the face of this growing concentration?

Chart showing the allocation of bitcoin purchases in 2025

Companies have bought 157,000 BTC since the beginning of 2025, compared to 49,000 BTC for ETFs and 19,000 BTC for governments, while individuals have sold 247,000 BTC, according to Arcane Research. This progressive centralization of bitcoin is creating a structural imbalance.

While the Bitcoin protocol imposes a limited production of 450 BTC per day, massive purchases by private companies are making the available supply scarce. As these “corporate whales” lock up increasing amounts of BTC, the market risks losing its initial resilience and openness.

Strategy and associates: when corporate treasury becomes speculative

The example of Strategy, which alone holds 77% of corporate acquisitions in 2025, illustrates a double-edged strategy. By converting its treasury into bitcoin, the company is betting on the long-term appreciation of the cryptocurrency rather than on the stability of fiat liquidity.

This approach is spreading to other firms such as Rumble or River Financial, who are justifying their purchases with three main objectives:

A trend documented by River, which claims a strong commitment to bitcoin.

Individuals drop out, companies scoop up: a turning point for bitcoin?

As companies are strengthening their positions, individual investors are withdrawing from the market. This dynamic highlights a growing divergence between two approaches to investing in bitcoin.

Increased volatility, post-halving price rises, and macroeconomic uncertainties have led many small holders to secure their profits and move away from the cryptocurrency markets.

At the same time, companies are continuing to accumulate at an industrial pace. This retail disengagement raises a fundamental question: can we still speak of a popular, accessible, and antifragile asset when large holders dictate the trend?

What bitcoin has become… opposite to Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision

In the original white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto presents bitcoin as a peer-to-peer monetary system, without intermediaries, allowing each individual to become their own bank. The goal was to disintermediate finance, in direct response to systemic abuses by large institutions.

However, massive holding of Bitcoin (BTC) by companies introduces:

This is therefore going against the ideal of a decentralized, egalitarian, and free network as conceived by Nakamoto. Bitcoin remains technically decentralized, but economically, it is becoming increasingly centralized.

Bitcoin is changing face: from a libertarian asset held by the people, it is becoming a strategic reserve in the hands of companies such as Metaplanet, which has overtaken El Salvador in BTC and is now aiming for 1% of the crypto market. This centralization is shifting the market balance. Can bitcoin remain a tool of individual sovereignty in the face of rising corporate interests? The debate is still open.