[Analysis] “Net inflows of 577,000 BTC into large Bitcoin wallets over the past year…institutional buying remains intact”

An analysis suggests that despite volatility in Bitcoin (BTC) prices, institution-led buying momentum is continuing.

According to cryptocurrency-focused media outlet Cointelegraph on the 20th, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said in a recent report that “institutional demand for Bitcoin remains strong.”

Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, said that “a total net inflow of 577,000 BTC has flowed into large custodial wallet cohorts holding 100–1,000 BTC over the past 12 months,” adding that “this metric is a rough gauge of institutional demand excluding exchanges and miners.” This marks an increase of about 33% over the past 24 months, coinciding with the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.

In fact, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded net inflows of about $1.2 billion so far this year. Over the same period, Bitcoin’s price gain was tallied at about 6%.

Rising institutional demand also aligns with the expansion of corporate digital-asset treasury (DAT) strategies. Bitcoin-holding companies centered on Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, have added about 260,000 BTC since July last year. That equals roughly $24 billion at current prices, implying holdings have increased by about 30% over the past six months. According to Glassnode, the cumulative holdings of these companies have surpassed 1.1 million BTC.

By contrast, retail investor sentiment appears to be weakening again. The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index stood at 32 as of the 20th, re-entering the “Fear” zone. This is interpreted as reflecting heightened caution over an escalating US-Europe trade conflict as Bitcoin slipped from last week’s high of $97,000 to below $92,000.