According to data outlined by CNBC, corporate crypto treasuries outpaced exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in buying bitcoin (BTC) in Q2 2025, marking the third consecutive quarter.
This signals a significant increase in the number of institutional bitcoin investors and the amount they have spent on BTC purchases over the past nine months.
Notably, Bitcoin ETFs hold approximately 6.8% of the total bitcoin supply, while public companies account for around 4%.
Company Bitcoin Purchases Surpass ETFs
According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, the quantity of bitcoins purchased by public companies increased by 18% to 131,355 BTC in Q2 2025. In contrast, ETFs recorded an 8% increase to approximately 111,411 bitcoins during the same period.
The last time ETFs recorded more BTC purchases than institutions was in the third quarter of 2024. Concluding the previous year, ETFs bought 195,049 bitcoins while firms acquired 240,045. Q1 2025 also recorded a notable difference, as companies purchased 106,309 bitcoins, leaving ETFs with just 5,884 BTC.
Commenting on the reason behind the massive differences, Nick Marie, head of research at Ecoinometrics, said:
“The institutional buyer who is getting exposure to bitcoin through the ETFs are not buying for the same reason as those public companies who are basically trying to accumulate bitcoin to increase shareholder value at the end of the day.”
Nevertheless, following its launch in January 2024, bitcoin ETFs have made waves as one of the most successful ETF debuts in history. Investors have poured approximately $49 billion into a U.S.-approved BTC exchange-traded funds. Notably, it accounts for about 1.4 million bitcoins while public companies hold only about 855,000 bitcoins.
Leading Institutional BTC Holders
Leading the institutional BTC acquisition journey is Strategy, a publicly traded American firm. It started purchasing BTC in Q4 2020 and has since not gone back on its “bitcoin first, bitcoin only” strategy. The firm holds 597,325 BTC, single-handedly accounting for almost 70% of the total BTC held by public companies globally.
Trailing Strategy is a renowned bitcoin miner, MARA Holdings. It adopted a BTC reserve last year and stopped selling its mined bitcoins. It holds 49,179 bitcoins and occasionally buys from the market. Other firms on the list include Japanese Metaplanet and U.S.-based Riot Platforms, among others.
Meanwhile, the list continues to welcome new entrants, as many firms have embarked on fundraising efforts to establish their strategic bitcoin reserves.
