Journalist
Posted:
Bitcoins [BTC] The dynamics of the ownership figures in 2025 were interesting, to say the least. The result is less chaos and more importance to where capital moves within the system.
How will that affect BTC as we enter the new year?
What happened?
According to data from Santiment, portfolios holding less than 0.1 BTC have increased their holdings by about 3.3% since July. Meanwhile, portfolios holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC added just 0.36% over the same period.
Source: Santiment
Large holders purchased the run-up to the annual high, then reducing exposure as prices peaked. Meanwhile, retail sales continued to show declines.
Source: CryptoQuant
Bitcoin continued to flow out of exchanges for much of 2025, meaning they are being held for the long term. This is true even while prices remained in range; So there is a discrepancy between the supply conditions and the price.
What’s different this time?
Despite the retail buying activity, Bitcoin’s price action was nothing to write home about. One possible reason for this is that capital is lurking.
Source: CryptoQuant
ERC-20 stable coin supply increased during the second half of the year, keeping the money in crypto. Just… standby.
Source: Cryptoquant
Trading activities also increasingly moved from the spot markets. Derivatives volumes dominated and OI became important for short-term movements. This replaced organic spot demand with instability caused by leverage.
Read between the lines
Price fluctuations were also often amplified by forced position unwinding. This is especially the case with downward movements late in the year.
Source: CryptoQuant
If anything, this has furthered the idea that Bitcoin’s market structure is now also influenced by positioning.
On the road to 2026…
If 2025 has proven anything, it’s that crypto is becoming a much more ‘mature’ asset for adults. The next phase is expected to reward patience when it comes to fluff, stories and headlines.
Price will eventually follow. It’s just that there may be no rush anymore.
And maybe that’s okay.
Final thoughts
- Private investments rose by 3.3%, while large portfolios remained largely flat.
- Supply was tight, but the price waited, so the market is maturing.