What to Know:
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BlackRock’s now holds 747,000 BTC (~$84B), surpassing Binance and Coinbase reserves.
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The firm steadily built its stash through billion-dollar purchases including a $3.1B buy in May 2025.
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Holding nearly 3.6% of all Bitcoin, BlackRock’s dominance sparks debate: mainstream adoption or Wall Street centralization?
BlackRock has officially become the single biggest Bitcoin holder in the world. As of August 21, its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF owns about 747,000 BTC, which is worth about $84 billion. That’s more than what big exchanges like Binance (563,000 BTC) and Coinbase (566,000 BTC) have right now.
A Timeline of BlackRock’s Bitcoin Buying Spree
It didn’t happen overnight for BlackRock. They have been steadily adding huge amounts of BTC over the last two years, often when the market was unsure. This is how it happened:
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Q1 2024 – $490 Million:
BlackRock bought over 11,500 BTC for about $490 million when the price of Bitcoin was below $45,000. Many investors were worried about a market downturn at the time, but this move showed that institutions were becoming more sure of themselves. -
September 2024 – $388 Million:
In just four days, BlackRock bought 362,193 BTC worth almost $23.8 billion. Even though competitors were selling, this surge made IBIT the biggest ETF holder. -
December 2024 – $1.5 Billion (Including $1B Pre-Dip):
BlackRock made one of its most daring moves by buying $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin during a week when prices were very unstable. This included a $1 billion purchase right before prices fell. This added about 10,000 BTC, bringing its total holdings to over 553,000 BTC, or about 2.6% of the total supply. -
January 2025 – $600 Million:
On January 22, BlackRock added $600 million in BTC, bringing IBIT’s stash to 559,262 BTC. At the time, this was valued at over $58 billion. -
Late January 2025 – $1 Billion More:
Just days later, BlackRock bought another $1 billion worth, raising its holdings to 572,616 BTC, or about 2.7% of all Bitcoin in existence. -
May 2025 – $3.1 Billion:
This was the biggest wave of buying so far. BlackRock bought $3.1 billion worth of BTC, which helped Bitcoin rise toward its all-time high of $108,786. Most analysts say that this purchase started a bullish trend in the market. -
July 2025 – $416 Million:
With another half-billion-dollar buying spree, BlackRock added to its stash, bringing it to 716,490 BTC. This was part of a larger $916 million investment in cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. -
August 2025 – Smaller but Steady Purchases:
BlackRock bought about 5,000 BTC in August through a number of smaller transactions. By the middle of August, IBIT had 747,000 BTC, making it the largest Bitcoin custodian in the world.
Bigger Than the Exchanges
For years, exchanges like Coinbase and Binance were the largest visible Bitcoin holders for easy inflows and outflows for regular investors. But now, BlackRock has flipped the script. There’s a twist here: while Coinbase still custodies BlackRock’s Bitcoin on its behalf, IBIT itself controls more BTC than Coinbase’s own reserves. This shows that ETFs are becoming the main way for both institutional and retail investors to get into the market, making Wall Street a big player in crypto.
This change is important for regular investors. This shows that Bitcoin is no longer a niche investment. It is now in portfolios worth trillions of dollars. There are fewer big players holding more BTC, which could change how easily it moves between markets. Governments are likely to step up their oversight as traditional finance gets more involved in crypto.
What Does This Mean for Bitcoin’s Original Vision?
The idea behind Bitcoin, which Satoshi Nakamoto made in 2008, was simple: it would be a digital currency that governments and big banks couldn’t control. But now, the biggest holder of BTC is the world’s biggest asset manager.
This raises tough questions:
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Is Bitcoin still “power to the people,” or has it become another Wall Street asset?
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If institutions like BlackRock hold too much, could they end up influencing liquidity and even the price?
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On the flip side, does this kind of adoption prove Bitcoin has finally gone mainstream?
Conclusion
For now, BlackRock controls nearly 3.6% of Bitcoin’s total supply, more than Binance, more than Coinbase, and more than any other single entity. Whether this ends up strengthening Bitcoin’s legitimacy or concentrating too much power in Wall Street’s hands is the big question for the years ahead.
Also Read: Crazy Rich Asians Turn to Crypto as Next Big Wealth Play
