"Bitcoin more resilient than ever… Institutions and governments bought 1 million coins last year"

Governments and institutional investors were found to have bought as many as 1 million bitcoins (BTC) last year. Analysts say institutional adoption is accelerating despite the recent downtrend in Bitcoin prices.

River, a crypto financial platform, said in a report on the 24th (local time) that "retail investors sold 696,000 bitcoins last year," while "governments, companies, funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) bought about 1 million bitcoins." River said, "Bitcoin, which began as an experimental endeavor, has now become a globally recognized store of value (SoV)," adding that "its rate of adoption is comparable to that of the internet."

River emphasized that "by most metrics, the Bitcoin network is more resilient than ever." It noted that "60% of the top 25 U.S. banks are developing Bitcoin-related products" and that "52% of the top 25 U.S. hedge funds are invested in Bitcoin." It added that "more than 2,000 U.S. advisory firms are invested in Bitcoin ETFs."

It also cited digital-asset treasury (DAT) trends. River said, "Companies added $54 billion worth of Bitcoin to their balance sheets last year," calling it "more than the combined total of all previous years." River added, "194 publicly listed companies currently hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets," and that "the number of merchants adopting Bitcoin as a means of payment rose 74% last year."

On national-level Bitcoin adoption, it assessed that it is "accelerating." River said, "23 countries currently hold Bitcoin," adding that "five countries joined the ranks of Bitcoin-holding nations last year alone." It also said, "Bitcoin’s average daily price fluctuation last year narrowed to levels close to gold and the S&P 500 index," adding that "Bitcoin is moving into a mature phase."