Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and different institutional Bitcoin merchandise could also be reshaping a core crypto ethos rooted in Satoshi Nakamoto’s unique imaginative and prescient. In line with onchain knowledge, Bitcoin self-custody has been steadily declining since January 2024 — the identical month Bitcoin spot ETFs had been permitted.
After practically 15 years of development, the creation of latest Bitcoin (BTC) addresses is slowing down, whereas energetic addresses have dropped sharply from practically 1 million in January 2024 to round 650,000 in late June, reaching ranges not seen since 2019.
“Since spot ETFs turned out there the expansion price of self-custody customers has been in decline,” stated on X analyst Willy Woo.
The information indicators a significant behavioral shift as extra traders go for institutional custody options like ETFs as an alternative of managing personal wallets.
The development is a part of Bitcoin’s pure integration into the standard monetary system as extra traders be a part of the crypto house through BTC funds. For others, nevertheless, it marks a departure from particular person sovereignty and Bitcoin’s unique objective.
“ETFs didn’t steal customers from chilly storage… They opened the market to those that had been locked behind compliance partitions,” a group member wrote on X.
The rise and comfort of Bitcoin ETFs
The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs by firms like BlackRock, Constancy and Grayscale marked a turning level for Bitcoin.
The ETFs gave traders regulated, institution-grade entry to the cryptocurrency, with out the necessity to handle wallets, exchanges or personal keys. The funds additionally supplied tax benefits and promised safe custody, together with the benefit of conventional brokerage platforms.
Market demand was robust from the beginning. Throughout the first 18 months, spot Bitcoin ETFs noticed round $50 billion in web inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT main the pack at $53 billion. By July 18, 2025, IBIT had grown to $83 billion in belongings underneath administration, tripling in simply 200 buying and selling days. It now holds over 700,000 BTC, practically 100,000 greater than Constancy’s FBTC.
In line with Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, IBIT turned the quickest ETF in historical past to achieve $80 billion, reaching the milestone in 374 days, far forward of the earlier file — 1,814 days — set by Vanguard’s VOO.
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Increasing institutional adoption
Bitcoin ETFs aren’t the one conventional gateway into BTC. In recent times, Bitcoin treasury firms — companies or funding autos that maintain Bitcoin on their stability sheets as a strategic reserve asset — have advanced from a handful of high-conviction gamers like Technique and Tesla right into a broader institutional motion.
The variety of public firms holding BTC elevated to 125 by the tip of Q2 2025 — a 58% surge from the earlier quarter. As of mid‑2025, over 250 organizations, together with public firms, personal corporations, ETFs and pension funds, now maintain BTC on their stability sheets.
Bitcoin treasury firms provide holders an oblique solution to spend money on Bitcoin with out managing personal keys or coping with crypto exchanges. Like ETFs, they get rid of the necessity for self-custody or direct interplay with crypto exchanges, whereas offering regulatory oversight and institutional-grade custody.
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