The corporate sector surpasses ETFs and retail investors, becoming the largest bitcoin buyer this year.
According to recent research conducted by River, companies and corporations have emerged as the biggest bitcoin buyers in 2025, outpacing both Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and retail investors. Businesses have increased their holdings by 157,000 bitcoins, equivalent to around $16 billion at current prices.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy dominates the market, accounting for 77% of the total growth in the corporate sector. River highlighted that this trend isn’t limited to large companies:
“We’re seeing businesses across all industries sign up to River. They’re aligned with Bitcoin and how it can change their future.”
ETFs and governments follow
After corporations, ETFs represent the second most active investor category, with an increase of 49,000 bitcoins (around $5 billion). Governments come next, having added roughly 19,000 bitcoins to their reserves. In contrast, retail investors have reduced their holdings by 247,000 bitcoins this year.
From a sectoral perspective, River revealed that financial and investment firms are the largest buyers, accounting for 35.7% of the total, followed by tech companies (16.8%) and professional consulting firms (16.5%). The remainder is spread across real estate, non-profits, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and transportation.
New players
2025 has also seen the arrival of new entrants in the market. Among them are video streaming platform Rumble, which made its first purchase in March, Hong Kong-based construction firm Ming Shing, and investment company HK Asia Holdings Limited.
According to a Bitwise report published in April, at least 12 listed companies bought the cryptocurrency for the first time in the first quarter of 2025. The volume of bitcoin held on the balance sheets of publicly traded companies increased by 16% during the period, with over 95,000 bitcoins added to corporate portfolios.
