30% of Bitcoin is locked up by big players – So why is BTC’s price falling?

ambcryptoPublished on 2025-12-16Last updated on 2025-12-16

Abstract

Bitcoin's price decline is occurring despite significant institutional accumulation, with large holders now controlling nearly 30% of the circulating supply (approximately 5.94 million BTC). This institutional ownership, spread across ETFs, public companies, and government treasuries, has reduced sell-side pressure. Major U.S. financial institutions are also expanding Bitcoin-related services. However, the recent price drop was primarily driven by leveraged long liquidations in the futures market. As highly leveraged positions were automatically closed during price dips, forced sell orders triggered a cascading effect. The key level to watch is Bitcoin's two-year simple moving average (SMA) near $82,800, which has historically acted as a critical regime indicator. A monthly close below this level could signal further downward pressure, while holding above it maintains long-term bullish structure.

Institutions love their Bitcoin! Large holders now control a huge share of supply, U.S. banks are rolling out more Bitcoin-linked products, and demand hasn’t disappeared.

Yet prices have slipped, because leverage broke first.

The big hands holding up Bitcoin

Source: Glassnode

Institutional holders now control roughly 5.94 million Bitcoin [BTC] (close to 30% of the circulating supply). The holding is spread across exchanges, ETFs, public companies, and government treasuries.

Long-term balances are rising, while exchange-held BTC has stagnated. This means reduced sell-side pressure over time.

Source: River

Meanwhile, Wall Street doesn’t want to miss out.

According to River, 14 of the top 25 U.S. banks are now building or exploring Bitcoin products, from trading desks to custody services. These are largely aimed at high-net-worth clients.

The infrastructure is being built before the next demand phase arrives.

Next: Short squeeze or structural shift? Here’s why MYX’s price rally is drawing attention
Share
  • Share
  • Tweet

Related Reads

Bitcoin Puell Multiple Falls To 0.74 As Miner Revenue Slides

The Bitcoin Puell Multiple, an on-chain indicator that measures the ratio of daily miner revenue in USD to its 365-day moving average, has declined to a recent value of 0.74. This drop suggests that Bitcoin miners are currently earning less than 75% of their average income over the past year, primarily due to a bearish shift in the cryptocurrency's price. Historically, Bitcoin has tended to find market bottoms when miner stress is high, though the current Puell Multiple level remains above those seen at the lows of the last two major bear markets. This implies that further price declines could be necessary for a bottom to form, assuming past patterns repeat. The indicator also shows characteristic sharp drops coinciding with Bitcoin Halving events, which cut the block subsidy in half. Concurrently, Bitcoin's price has been trading sideways around $62,800.

bitcoinist42m ago

Bitcoin Puell Multiple Falls To 0.74 As Miner Revenue Slides

bitcoinist42m ago

BingX Introduces Industry-First Futures Asset Auto Earn for BingX VIPs

BingX has launched a Futures Asset Auto Earn event, an industry-first program exclusively for VIP3+ and above users. Running from June 12 to August 12, 2026, it allows eligible traders to earn daily interest on their USDT-M perpetual futures margins without locking funds or impacting trading activity. Key features include one-click activation, daily settlement of interest, no lock-up periods for positions, and tiered rewards with rates up to 4% based on VIP level. This initiative enhances BingX's VIP offerings, enabling users to generate passive income while maintaining full control over their trading strategies.

TheNewsCrypto2h ago

BingX Introduces Industry-First Futures Asset Auto Earn for BingX VIPs

TheNewsCrypto2h ago

It's Not Jensen Huang Who Wants to Change the PC, But the PC That's Revolting Against Itself

The 40-year-old PC industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by the rise of AI PCs. At the GTC Taipei 2026 event, NVIDIA, backed by Microsoft and major PC OEMs, announced the RTX Spark super chip for Windows PCs, marking its official entry into the PC core processor market. This move aims to redefine the AI PC by shifting its core from the CPU to an AI-focused SoC (System on Chip). NVIDIA envisions the PC evolving from a personal computer to a "personal AI"—a platform where local AI Agents can autonomously perform tasks. While Intel pioneered the AI PC concept earlier in 2026, NVIDIA's aggressive push, leveraging its vast CUDA developer ecosystem of 6 million, positions it to potentially reshape the industry's long-standing Wintel (Windows-Intel) power structure. NVIDIA's strategy extends beyond hardware; it's about embedding its CUDA, RTX, and AI software stack into the PC platform itself. The article identifies key shifts: 1) The move from a CPU-centric to an AI SoC-centric architecture, similar to Apple's approach with its M-series chips. 2) The PC's evolution from a human-operated tool to a platform for human-Agent collaboration. 3) The extension of NVIDIA's data center-centric CUDA ecosystem to personal devices via RTX Spark. Ultimately, the change is driven by the broader trend of AI moving to personal devices. Companies like Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple are all participating in this shift. NVIDIA's entry accelerates the competition, but the core driver is the technology itself finding its optimal expression in the PC. The industry is reinventing itself, with the outcome hinging on execution, ecosystem development, and the creation of compelling local AI applications.

marsbit2h ago

It's Not Jensen Huang Who Wants to Change the PC, But the PC That's Revolting Against Itself

marsbit2h ago

The U.S. SEC Wants to Dismantle a 2005 Rule, What Tokenized Stocks Are Seeing

The U.S. SEC has proposed rescinding two key rules, Rule 611 (the trade-through rule) and Rule 610(e) (restrictions on locked and crossed quotations), from the 2005 Regulation NMS. The move aims to modernize equity market structure by reducing regulatory complexity and granting trading venues and brokers more flexibility in order routing, quote display, and trade execution. The SEC argues that the highly automated, fragmented, and competitive modern market, with trends like 24/7 trading and the potential use of distributed ledger technology for tokenized securities, has diminished the necessity of these rules, which were designed to protect the best displayed prices. Their removal could lower compliance costs (estimated at $54.2-$77 million annually) and may create space for innovative trading mechanisms, including those relevant to tokenized stocks, such as smart contracts and AMMs. However, the proposal is still in the public comment phase and does not address other core challenges for tokenized securities, like custody or registration.

Foresight News3h ago

The U.S. SEC Wants to Dismantle a 2005 Rule, What Tokenized Stocks Are Seeing

Foresight News3h ago

Ethena's Transformation and Wall Street's Anxiety

**Title: Ethena's Pivot and Wall Street's Anxiety** **Summary:** In June 2026, stablecoin protocol Ethena entered a strategic partnership with $480 billion asset manager Janus Henderson. This multi-layered deal, involving treasury integration, token investment, and planned exchange-traded products, marks Ethena's full entry into traditional finance (TradFi) and underscores Wall Street's strategic push into the stablecoin space. This move follows Ethena's significant evolution from its original "delta-neutral" model, which relied on crypto perpetual futures, to a "hybrid RWA" structure incorporating US Treasuries, corporate credit (via a Janus Henderson CLO fund), and other traditional assets. The pivot was driven by vulnerabilities exposed in its original model during a 2025 market downturn. For traditional giants like Janus Henderson, the collaboration addresses deep-seated anxieties: the pressure to participate in asset tokenization, the need to offer competitive yields in a low-rate environment, and, most critically, the fear of losing control over the financial "on-ramps" as stablecoins become a core settlement layer. The partnership exemplifies the blurring line between DeFi and TradFi, with stablecoins at the center of this convergence.

Foresight News4h ago

Ethena's Transformation and Wall Street's Anxiety

Foresight News4h ago

Trading

Spot
Futures

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of S (S) are presented below.

活动图片

Top Questions

Hot Categoriesright-arrow

Hot Tagsright-arrow