According to DLNews, major exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers like BlackRock and Bitwise are on the verge of becoming the largest holders of Bitcoin. This year alone, these institutions have acquired over $104 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, positioning them close to surpassing Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's enigmatic founder, who holds 1.1 million Bitcoins valued at over $105 billion. A recent report by research firm Bernstein predicts that by the end of 2024, Wall Street will replace Satoshi as the top Bitcoin wallet holder. This shift is attributed to the growing interest of financial institutions in cryptocurrencies, with institutional confidence in the asset class reaching unprecedented levels, according to Joshua de Vos, Research Lead at CCData.
The increasing institutional interest is further fueled by optimism surrounding a favorable regulatory environment anticipated under a potential second Donald Trump presidency. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have emerged as a significant success story in the crypto market for 2024. Since the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 funds in January, these ETFs have collectively acquired over 5% of the global Bitcoin supply. Unlike Satoshi's holdings, which are believed to belong to a single entity, ETF holdings are distributed among multiple investors. MicroStrategy, the next largest single Bitcoin holder, possesses just under 2% of the total Bitcoin supply. However, ETFs are rapidly closing this gap, with Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noting their aggressive acquisition pace.
Despite Bitcoin's recent retreat as it approached the $100,000 mark, analysts remain optimistic about its future performance. Hedge fund Pantera Capital's founder, Dan Morehead, suggested that institutional interest is only beginning, with more firms likely to enter the market as regulatory clarity improves. Morehead predicts that Bitcoin's value could skyrocket, potentially reaching $740,000 by April 2028 if the current trend of doubling its value annually continues. Increased institutional adoption, both from private companies and governments, is expected to stabilize the asset's volatility, according to de Vos. He also noted that these developments might lead to a greater concentration of Bitcoin supply among the largest holders, further widening the gap between small and large market participants.
