A new chart reveals a staggering rise in corporate Bitcoin adoption over the past five years. In 2020, only a handful of private firms, just 12 in total, held Bitcoin on their balance sheets. As of 2025, that figure has exploded to over 279,000 companies, marking one of the most dramatic waves of institutional and private adoption in the asset’s history.
The data visualizes Bitcoin’s distribution across major entity groups, including public and private companies, governments, ETFs, DeFi contracts, and exchanges. Since 2023, the most striking growth has come from private companies, which now collectively rival custodians and ETFs in holdings. This shift underscores how Bitcoin has transitioned from a niche treasury experiment to a mainstream balance sheet reserve asset.
Public companies like Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Metaplanet helped pioneer the movement, but the exponential expansion among smaller and mid-sized firms signals a deeper structural change. Many businesses are now integrating Bitcoin not just as a speculative investment but as a strategic financial hedge and liquidity asset.
The chart also shows notable accumulation by ETFs and funds since 2024, reflecting the impact of regulated financial products on global supply distribution.
As adoption broadens, Bitcoin’s ownership base is diversifying, and with over a quarter million private firms now holding BTC, corporate demand has become one of the strongest long-term fundamentals supporting its market structure.