Individuals Control 65.9% of Bitcoin Holdings According to River Research
River's recent research indicates that individuals hold the majority of bitcoin. Key findings from their study dated August 25, 2025 include:
- Individuals control approximately 65.9% of circulating BTC, equating to 13.83 million coins, including self-custodied wallets and individual exchange accounts.
- Businesses account for about 6.2% of supply, or 1.30 million BTC.
- ETFs and funds hold around 7.8%, or 1.63 million BTC.
- Governments possess about 1.5%, or 306,000 BTC.
- Lost bitcoin is estimated at 7.6%, or 1.58 million BTC.
- Satoshi/Patoshi holdings are pegged at 4.6%, or 968,000 BTC.
- Approximately 5.2% of supply, or 1.09 million BTC, has yet to be mined.
The study aims to illustrate current bitcoin ownership rather than predict prices. It concludes that while individual holdings remain dominant, institutional ownership is increasing, driven by growing ETF adoption and corporate balance-sheet investments in bitcoin.