In recent years, big institutions have amassed a growing slice of the #bitcoin supply. This includes public companies such as MicroStrategy and Tesla; financial firms, including exchange-traded funds that hold bitcoin on behalf of investors; and governments. The U.S., which acquires cryptocurrencies seized from criminals, is the biggest government holder of bitcoin.

The emergence of such hoards is bullish for the price of bitcoin because it means more of bitcoin’s supply is locked up.