Publicly listed Bitcoin (BTC) treasury companies have been actively buying up BTC, with a total of $552 million worth of the cryptocurrency being acquired between July 31 and August 4. During the same period, holders of US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs were divesting their shares, resulting in $1.25 billion in outflows, according to data from Farside Investors and Bitcoin Treasuries.
The data from Bitcoin Treasuries revealed that corporate treasuries added a total of 4,869 BTC during this timeframe, equivalent to nearly $552 million at the current price of $113,418 per BTC. This amount was significantly lower than the outflows from ETF investors, which totaled almost $700 million.
Among the companies making significant Bitcoin purchases during this period, Metaplanet stood out by acquiring 463 BTC, valued at over $54 million. James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares, attributed the recent outflows from ETFs to macroeconomic factors such as comments from the Federal Open Market Committee and strong economic data.
Despite the sell-off from ETF holders, the overall supply of BTC has been shrinking this year. Public companies have purchased a total of 343,394 BTC, while ETF investors have added 181,276 BTC, bringing the combined acquisition by these two groups to 524,670 BTC in just seven months. In comparison, only 98,503 BTC have been mined during the same period, highlighting the significant impact of institutional buying on the supply of BTC.
Estimates suggest that a total of 164,250 BTC will be mined this year, making the stash held by ETF investors and public companies more than three times higher already. This supply shock scenario has not gone unnoticed by investors, as Bitcoin’s price has remained relatively stable despite recent macroeconomic uncertainties, with only a 4.2% drop in value last week. Furthermore, BTC is still within reach of its all-time high of $122,054.86, set on July 14.
Overall, the data indicates a strong demand for Bitcoin from institutional investors, leading to a potential supply shortage that could further drive up the price of the cryptocurrency in the coming months.