Institutions Buy Bitcoin In Record Numbers, But Why Is Price Still Below $111,900 ATH?

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Institutions like BlackRock and Metaplanet continue to actively accumulate Bitcoin, providing a bullish outlook for the flagship crypto. BTC has, however, remained below its current all-time high (ATH) due to factors such as tariffs and selling pressure from old whales. 

BlackRock And Metaplanet Hit New Milestones With Bitcoin Accumulation

SosoValue data shows that BlackRock has officially surpassed the 700,000 BTC milestone and now holds $76.35 billion in assets under management (AuM). The asset manager’s Bitcoin holdings account for 3.5% of the crypto’s total supply of 21 million. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF is now way ahead of Saylor’s Strategy and the second-largest Bitcoin holder, behind Satoshi Nakamoto. 

BlackRock has achieved this milestone in less than two years since its Bitcoin ETF launched. Commenting on this milestone, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the asset manager now holds 700,000 BTC and is 62% of the way toward surpassing Satoshi. The Bloomberg analyst added that IBIT has on average accumulated 40,000 BTC a month or 1,300 BTC a day. Based on this pace, the asset manager is on course to 1.2 million BTC in May 2026. 

Besides BlackRock, Metaplanet is another institution that is actively accumulating Bitcoin in record numbers. The company’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, announced that they have acquired 2,205 BTC for $238.7 million at $108,237 per bitcoin, achieving a BTC yield of 416.6% YTD. Metaplanet now holds 15,555 BTC, which it acquired for $1.54 billion at $99,307 per bitcoin. 

BitcoinTreasuries’ data shows that Metaplanet is now the fifth-largest Bitcoin treasury company, only behind Strategy, MARA, Twenty One Capital, and Riot platforms. Other companies like MARA Holdings, Semler Scientific, and ProCap BTC have also expanded their Bitcoin treasuries, highlighting the massive demand for the flagship crypto. 

Why The BTC Price Is Still Below ATH

Macro factors like the Trump tariffs continue to pose an obstacle to a new uptrend for the Bitcoin price. The US president recently sparked panic in the markets with his trade letters, which he sent to 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, imposing a reciprocal tariff on them. These tariffs are set to take effect from August 1, and Trump has declared that he has no intention to extend the trade deadline again. 

The Bitcoin price dropped from its weekly high above $109,000 amid this development and is again at risk of reaching new weekly lows. The BTC price also looks to be facing selling pressure from old whales, which matches the buying pressure from these institutions. 

Bloomberg reported that early Bitcoin whales have sold over 500,000 BTC in the past year, which roughly matches the net inflows from the Bitcoin ETFs during the same period. One early Bitcoin whale also recently moved 80,000 BTC, raising concerns that they were looking to offload these coins. 

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $108,600, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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