Corporations and businesses are the largest net buyers of Bitcoin so far this year, outpacing exchange-traded funds and retail investors, according to new research. 

Firms such as Michael Saylor’s Strategy have bought more Bitcoin (BTC) this year than any other category of investor, with overall corporate holdings growth totalling 157,000 BTC, worth around $16 billion at current prices, according to Bitcoin investment firm River. 

Strategy makes up 77% of the group’s growth, the firm reported on X on May 12, before adding that it’s not just big companies.

“We’re seeing businesses across all industries sign up to River. They’re aligned with Bitcoin and how it can change their future,” the firm noted.  

The next largest category after corporations was ETFs, which have grown their net Bitcoin by 49,000 BTC, or $5 billion worth, reported River. Following that were governments with around 19,000 BTC in growth, and retail traders or individuals had seen a decline of 247,000 in Bitcoin holdings this year, it reported. 

Change in BTC ownership in 2025. Source: River

Overall, there has been a 154% growth in business ownership since 2024, the firm stated, breaking things down by business category for its own clients.

It revealed that finance and investment firms are the largest buyers of the asset, with 35.7% of the total, followed by tech firms on 16.8%, professional and consulting companies accounted for 16.5%, and the remainder were real estate, non-profits, consumer and industrial, healthcare, and energy, agriculture, and transportation firms. 

Related: Coinbase considered Saylor-like Bitcoin strategy before opting out: Bloomberg

There have been several large corporate purchases recently, with Strategy scooping up a whopping 13,390 Bitcoin for $1.34 billion and Metaplanet adding a further 1,241 BTC to its treasury, which surpassed that of El Salvador on May 12. 

Newcomers to the Bitcoin market in 2025 include video streaming platform Rumble, which made its first purchase in March, Hong Kong construction firm Ming Shing, and Hong Kong investment firm HK Asia Holdings Limited. 

At least twelve public companies bought Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, reported Bitwise in April. The firm added that the amount of Bitcoin held on the books of publicly traded companies rose by 16% for the period, with more than 95,000 Bitcoin added to corporate portfolios for the period. 

Is Bitcoin becoming deflationary?

These big corporate purchases of the asset will put pressure on the supply and demand since supply is finite, and miners can only produce 450 coins per day, say analysts.

CryptoQuant CEO and market analyst Ki Young Ju said Strategy is accumulating Bitcoin at a faster rate than total miner output, giving the asset a -2.3% annual deflation rate. 

Meanwhile, author Adam Livingston recently said that Strategy is synthetically halving Bitcoin by outpacing miner supply through high demand.

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