The demand from institutions for Bitcoin is rapidly increasing, with spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) injecting between $5 billion and $10 billion into the market every quarter.
This influx of new capital is helping to tighten the supply of the asset and solidify its long-term bullish outlook.
Bitwise Chief Technology Officer Hong Kim noted, using data from Farside Investors, that ETF inflows have become a consistent trend, arriving “like clockwork.” He described it as “an unstoppable secular trend that even the four-year cycle cannot hinder,” while predicting that “2026 will be a positive year.”
These flows represent a more profound change in how traditional finance is engaging with Bitcoin. Once viewed as speculative, this leading cryptocurrency is now being integrated through regulated investment vehicles that provide reliable and consistent liquidity.
Consequently, global crypto funds, including those focused on BTC and Ethereum, have surpassed $250 billion in assets under management (AUM), indicating institutional confidence in digital assets as a component of diversified portfolios.
ETF Demand Surges Beyond Bitcoin’s New Supply
Simultaneously, the continued influx of institutional funds is not only propelling prices but also altering Bitcoin’s supply dynamics.
Bitwise’s European Head of Research, André Dragosch, disclosed that institutions have acquired 944,330 BTC in 2025, exceeding the 913,006 BTC gathered in 2024.
In contrast, miners have generated only 127,622 BTC this year, meaning institutional purchases are outpacing new supply by approximately 7.4 times.
This disparity originates from 2024, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot Bitcoin ETFs after much deliberation.
This approval initiated a fundamental shift: demand from regulated funds rapidly exceeded supply, reversing a trend that had persisted from 2020 to 2023, when uncertainty and lack of oversight limited institutional participation.
BlackRock’s entrance through its iShares Bitcoin Trust exemplified this change, motivating other significant firms to follow. The momentum has carried into 2025, supported by more favorable US policy signals and increasing recognition of Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
Some companies, including those connected to government entities, are now holding Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets, highlighting its growing legitimacy among institutions.
With nearly three months left in the year and inflows continuing unabated, analysts anticipate a further deepening of Bitcoin’s supply crunch.
The widening gap between issuance and demand underscores how ETF-driven accumulation has altered the market’s fundamentals, reshaping Bitcoin from a speculative asset to a global financial instrument with persistent institutional interest.
