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. In response to onchain knowledge, Bitcoin self-custody has been steadily declining since January 2024 — the similar month Bitcoin spot ETFs have been authorized.
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 obtainable the development fee of self-custody customers has been in decline,” said on X analyst Willy Woo.
The information alerts a serious behavioral shift as extra buyers go for institutional custody options like ETFs as a substitute of managing personal wallets.
The pattern is a part of Bitcoin’s pure integration into the conventional monetary system as extra buyers be part of the crypto house by way of 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 corporations like BlackRock, Constancy and Grayscale marked a turning level for Bitcoin.
The ETFs gave buyers regulated, institution-grade entry to the cryptocurrency, with out the must handle wallets, exchanges or personal keys. The funds additionally provided tax benefits and promised safe custody, together with the ease of conventional brokerage platforms.
Market demand was robust from the begin. Inside the first 18 months, spot Bitcoin ETFs noticed round $50 billion in net inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT main the pack at $53 billion. By July 18, 2025, IBIT had grown to $83 billion in assets under management, tripling in simply 200 buying and selling days. It now holds over 700,000 BTC, practically 100,000 greater than Constancy’s FBTC.
In response to 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 solely conventional gateway into BTC. Lately, Bitcoin treasury corporations — companies or funding automobiles 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 corporations holding BTC increased to 125 by the end of Q2 2025 — a 58% surge from the earlier quarter. As of mid‑2025, over 250 organizations, together with public corporations, personal corporations, ETFs and pension funds, now maintain BTC on their stability sheets.
Bitcoin treasury corporations supply holders an oblique method to make investments in Bitcoin with out managing personal keys or coping with crypto exchanges. Like ETFs, they get rid of the want for self-custody or direct interplay with crypto exchanges, whereas offering regulatory oversight and institutional-grade custody.
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