Key highlights:
- Institutional wallets with 100–1,000 BTC accumulated 577,000 coins in the past year, showing growing demand.
- Corporate digital treasuries increased holdings by 30% in six months, now owning over 1.1 million BTC.
- Retail traders remain cautious, with the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index dropping to 32, signaling fear.
Wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC accumulated 577,000 coins over the past year, signaling ongoing institutional investor interest in the leading cryptocurrency.
CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju noted that institutional demand for Bitcoin remains strong. He highlighted that wallets in this category, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), have collectively received 577,000 BTC over the past year, and that inflows show no sign of slowing.
The analysis excludes exchange wallets and miners, providing a clearer picture of institutional demand.
33% growth in two years signals ETF impact
The increase represents approximately 33% growth over 24 months, roughly coinciding with the launch of the first US spot Bitcoin ETFs.
So far this year, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $1.2 billion, even as Bitcoin’s price rose only about 6%.
A political economist using the pseudonym Crypto Seth suggested that institutional investment in Bitcoin and Ethereum is still in its early stages, describing current activity as just the beginning. He added that most people may struggle to imagine how the market could evolve by 2030-2040.
Corporate digital treasuries increase reserves
Corporate treasuries, led by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, have acquired 260,000 bitcoins since July, worth roughly $24 billion at current market prices.
This represents a 30% increase over six months, outpacing supply from miners, according to Glassnode. Together, corporate holders now control over 1.1 million bitcoins.
Over the past 6 months, Bitcoin treasuries held by public and private companies have grown from ~854K BTC to ~1.11M BTC.
That’s an increase of ~260K BTC, or roughly ~43K BTC per month, highlighting the steady expansion of corporate balance-sheet exposure to Bitcoin.… https://t.co/hHXjcSDDj4 pic.twitter.com/oluVGO2bGD— glassnode (@glassnode) January 13, 2026
Retail traders remain cautious
Despite institutional accumulation, retail traders have been more cautious. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index returned to the “fear” zone this week, with a rating of 32 out of 100, after briefly reaching “greed” last week for the first time since October.
Retail anxiety coincides with Bitcoin prices retreating from last week’s high of $97,000 to below $92,000, following market reactions to trade tensions between the US and Europe.
The data highlights a contrasting market behavior: institutional investors are steadily increasing Bitcoin holdings, while retail traders demonstrate caution. Inflows into ETFs and corporate digital reserves confirm long-term interest among major players.
The concentration of Bitcoin in institutional hands mirrors early gold accumulation by central banks in the 19th century. The difference is that Bitcoin has existed for only 15 years.
The 577,000 BTC absorbed annually by institutions represents roughly 3% of the total supply, similar to the pace at which the Federal Reserve accumulated gold in the 1920s.
Source:: Institutional Demand for Bitcoin Continues to Grow, CryptoQuant Reports