Fidelity Flags Rapid Rise in Illiquid Bitcoin Supply
According to asset management business Fidelity, almost 42% of Bitcoin's current circulating supply, or 8.3 million Bitcoin (BTC)...
Quick overview
- Fidelity reports that nearly 42% of Bitcoin's circulating supply could be illiquid by 2032 due to increased acquisitions by treasury firms.
- The analysis identifies long-term holders and publicly traded corporations as key contributors to the growing illiquid supply of Bitcoin.
- Currently, public corporations hold over 830,000 BTC, with a significant concentration among those owning more than 1,000 units.
- The increase in illiquid supply may lead to greater scarcity, potentially benefiting Bitcoin's price in the future.
According to asset management business Fidelity, almost 42% of Bitcoin’s current circulating supply, or 8.3 million Bitcoin (BTC), might be “illiquid” by 2032 if Bitcoin treasury firms continue to acquire at present rates.
With 95% of total supply shortly to be in circulation, the market may be transitioning from an age of abundance to one of scarcity, according to Fidelity Digital Assets researcher Zack Wainwright in a report published on Monday.
New research piece from analyst Zack Wainwright where he digs deeper on bitcoin's increasingly illiquid supply.
One interesting aspect is the analysis of what public company accumulation could do to supply in the future.
Check it out here for free: https://t.co/8eFwAYo0Yg
— Chris Kuiper, CFA (@ChrisJKuiper) September 15, 2025
The analysis identified two cohorts that marked the limit of illiquid supply. These were Bitcoin entities whose Bitcoin supply has increased each quarter or at least 90% of the time over the last four years.
Based on this, it identified two groups: long-term Bitcoin holders and publicly traded corporations with at least 1,000 Bitcoin, the latter of which has increased this year.
Bitcoin’s illiquid supply means there is less available on the open market, which could benefit the price of Bitcoin.
We predict that this combined group will have over six million Bitcoin by the end of 2025, accounting for more than 28% of the 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist,” Fidelity stated.
Illiquid supply is growing.
It reported that long-term Bitcoin holders, defined as individuals who have not removed Bitcoin from their wallet in at least seven years, have not seen a decline in supply since 2016.
The second group, public corporations presently own more than 830,000 BTC, or 4% of the circulating supply, having 97% concentrated among those with more than 1,000 units. That figure could be considerably higher, as BitcoinTreasuries indicates that over 1.3 million BTC are held by public and private entities.
This cohort may grow in the future, as there are presently 105 publicly traded Bitcoin holding businesses. According to Bitbo data, publicly traded firms currently hold well over 969,000 BTC, or 4.61% of the total supply of Bitcoin.
When the supply of long-term holders is combined with public corporate holdings, the researcher observed an increasing trend of holding Bitcoin rather than trading or dealing. He noted that a spike in BTC acceptance among public corporate treasuries has resulted in an increase in illiquid supply from Q3 2024.
The researcher found that when more entities buy and hold Bitcoin for an extended period of time, its scarcity may become a focus point.
“If nation-state adoption increases and the regulatory environment surrounding Bitcoin continues to evolve, the growth of the illiquid supply could be even more dramatic.” fidelity mentioned.
$628B Bitcoin Whale Holdings Spark Sell-Off Fears
According to the research, the two entities combined currently own $628 billion in Bitcoin at an average price of $107,700, more than doubling their holdings from the end of the second quarter last year.
This poses the question of what might happen to the Bitcoin price if whales begin selling their BTC stack.
Bitcoin whales have sold almost $12.7 billion in BTC over the last 30 days, the greatest sell-off since mid-2022. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price has dropped by 2% during the last 30 days, according to CoinGecko.
Although the report did not mention it, the same is likely to be true for Ethereum, as virtual treasuries have taken up more than 4% of the total supply in just a few months. Since their inception last year, Ether ETFs have scooped up more than 5.5% of the total supply.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
Save