Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and different institutional Bitcoin merchandise could also be reshaping a core crypto ethos rooted in Satoshi Nakamoto’s authentic imaginative and prescient. Based on onchain knowledge, Bitcoin self-custody has been steadily declining since January 2024 — the identical month Bitcoin spot ETFs have been accredited.
After practically 15 years of development, the creation of recent 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 obtainable the expansion fee of self-custody customers has been in decline,” stated on X analyst Willy Woo.
The information alerts a serious behavioral shift as extra traders go for institutional custody options like ETFs as an alternative of managing non-public wallets.
The development is a part of Bitcoin’s pure integration into the normal monetary system as extra traders be a part of the crypto area through BTC funds. For others, nevertheless, it marks a departure from particular person sovereignty and Bitcoin’s authentic goal.
“ETFs didn’t steal customers from chilly storage… They opened the market to those that have 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 non-public keys. The funds additionally provided tax benefits and promised safe custody, together with the convenience of conventional brokerage platforms.
Market demand was robust from the beginning. Throughout the first 18 months, spot Bitcoin ETFs noticed round $50 billion in internet inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT main the pack at $53 billion. By July 18, 2025, IBIT had grown to $83 billion in property beneath administration, tripling in simply 200 buying and selling days. It now holds over 700,000 BTC, practically 100,000 greater than Constancy’s FBTC.
Based on Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, IBIT turned the quickest ETF in historical past to achieve $80 billion, attaining the milestone in 374 days, far forward of the earlier report — 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 steadiness 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 top of Q2 2025 — a 58% surge from the earlier quarter. As of mid‑2025, over 250 organizations, together with public firms, non-public corporations, ETFs and pension funds, now maintain BTC on their steadiness sheets.
Bitcoin treasury firms provide holders an oblique solution to put money into Bitcoin with out managing non-public keys or coping with crypto exchanges. Like ETFs, they eradicate the necessity for self-custody or direct interplay with crypto exchanges, whereas offering regulatory oversight and institutional-grade custody.
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