Corporate Bitcoin Boom: Businesses Drive 2025’s Largest BTC Accumulation
Firms Outpace ETFs and Individuals as Bitcoin Holdings Surge by $16 Billion
Corporations have become the biggest buyers of Bitcoin in 2025, leading all investor categories with aggressive acquisitions that have added 157,000 BTC—worth around $16 billion—to their balance sheets, according to a new report from investment firm River.
One firm dominates the space: Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which alone accounts for 77% of all corporate Bitcoin growth this year. The data underscores a decisive shift in how companies—both large and small—are embracing Bitcoin not just as a speculative asset, but as a long-term treasury and strategic financial tool.
Businesses Overtake ETFs and Governments in Bitcoin Accumulation
While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have expanded their net Bitcoin holdings by 49,000 BTC (approximately $5 billion), and governments by 19,000 BTC, River’s report reveals that individual retail investors have seen a net decline of 247,000 BTC in 2025.
This realignment of ownership signals a transfer of Bitcoin from individuals to institutions, and it’s not limited to multinationals.
“We’re seeing businesses across all industries sign up to River. They’re aligned with Bitcoin and how it can change their future,” the firm stated.
A Broad Business Shift Toward Bitcoin
The report also breaks down which sectors are leading this movement:
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Finance and investment firms: 35.7% of total corporate Bitcoin purchases
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Tech companies: 16.8%
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Professional and consulting firms: 16.5%
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The rest includes real estate, nonprofits, industrial, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and transportation sectors
Overall, corporate Bitcoin ownership has jumped by 154% since the start of 2024, making this a historic year in institutional crypto adoption.
Q1 2025: Twelve Public Companies Join the Bitcoin Bandwagon
According to Bitwise, at least 12 public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025. Over 95,000 BTC were added to the books of publicly traded firms, a 16% increase from the previous quarter.
Among the newcomers:
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Rumble, the video streaming platform
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Ming Shing, a Hong Kong-based construction firm
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HK Asia Holdings Limited, an investment company
Even smaller businesses are now allocating Bitcoin to their treasuries, signaling a maturation of the market.
Strategy’s Billion-Dollar Bet and the Deflationary Effect
In the year’s most striking purchase, Strategy acquired 13,390 BTC for $1.34 billion. Japan’s Metaplanet also boosted its holdings, now surpassing the total Bitcoin held by El Salvador.
Analysts warn that continued large-scale buying could tighten supply significantly. With a fixed maximum supply and only 450 new Bitcoins mined per day, this rate of acquisition could have long-term deflationary consequences.
Share This“Strategy is accumulating Bitcoin faster than miners can produce it,” said CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, who estimates an effective -2.3% annual deflation rate.
Author Adam Livingston added that the firm is “synthetically halving” Bitcoin by creating artificial scarcity through overwhelming demand.
