Bitcoin is reducing: what’s going on?
With less BTC in circulation, experts are preparing for a potential supply of supply.
Bitcoin’s hard ceiling of 21 million pieces has always been at the heart of its appeal. However, by 2025, this integrated rarity is no longer just a theoretical characteristic; It becomes a reality of the market. 93% of all bitcoins have already been extracted, and since the fourth network deresceau in April, which has half the minor awards, fewer new parts come into circulation every day.
At the same time, long -term holders are sitting well. An increasing part of Bitcoin is now locked in cold storage, attached to institutional or presumed lost assets. About 70% of the Bitcoin supply has not changed at least a year, a sign that liquidity dries up.
With the addition of the growing demand of funds on ad hoc exchanges (ETF), public enterprises and even sovereign wealth funds, the result is a tightening market that has analysts warning of a potential supply shock, a time when Bitcoin (BTC) available is available on exchanges too rare to meet the potentially demand, potentially triggering price movements.
Bitcoin strategy by Michael Saylor: relentless accumulation
Saylor’s strategy now holds about 3% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, and it will not slow down.
Michael Saylor, executive president of the strategy, made the accumulation of bitcoin his mission of his life. Since 2020, he has transformed the software company into a full -fledged BTC detention vehicle, borrowed money, issuing actions and cash expenditure companies to buy more bitcoin.
In mid-2025, the strategy holds more than 2.75% of the total Bitcoin supply (around 582,000 BTC) and continues to buy more each month. This aggressive approach fuels worries that a BTC supply crisis can be on the horizon. Fewer parts available on scholarships means fewer liquidity, especially for new entrants or retail merchants looking to buy.
Did you know? The strategy is now at the top of the public ranking for BTC reserves, holding more parts than the United States and combined Chinese governments. His hiding place is almost twelve times larger than that of the nearest holder, Marathon Digital Holdings.
Bitcoin’s offer meets institutional demand
The institutions no longer look at the crypto – they buy in bulk.
The Bitcoin passage of retail speculation to the assets of institutional quality is now undoubtedly. In the United States, the FNB Bitcoin of Spot and elsewhere have opened new bridges for pension funds, banks and investment companies.
The BlackRock’s Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded an average of $ 430 million from the start of May 2025, leading to $ 6.35 billion for the month, its biggest ever. When institutions buy via spots, underlying bitcoin is transferred to storage of the guardian cold. These flows remove the parts of the exchanges, tightening the supply of liquid on the market.
This increase in institutional demand adds another layer to the imbalance of supply and demand for Bitcoin. Even conservative banks now consider BTC as long -term coverage.
On May 27, Trump Media and Technology Group, the mother company of the American president Donald Trump, Truth Social, confirmed a round of fundraising of 2.5 billion dollars to acquire Bitcoin, reversing previous denials. Around the same time, Gamestop revealed a Bitcoin investment of $ 500 million.
Meanwhile, Tether, SoftBank and Strike CEO, Jack Mallers, announced the launch of Twenty One, a Bitcoin public company that would make its debut with more than 42,000 BTC on its balance sheet, making it the third biggest business holder in the world.
Did you know? In 1992, Microstrategy (now Strategy), co-founded by Michael Saylor, won a major $ 10 million agreement with McDonald’s to create software designed to analyze the efficiency of its promotional campaigns.
Bitcoin in half and accumulation of whales: is the market too heavy?
The 2024 reduced by half reduced minor awards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, which limits the new offer entering the market. However, a few players now control a large part of all Bitcoin, causing hause and critical sockets.
The cycle of half integrated Bitcoin occurs approximately every four years and reduces the number of new parts that minors receive to validate the blocks. After the reduction of half of April 2024, this number fell to only 3.125 BTC per block, reducing the bitcoin inflation rate to less than 1% per year.
Although this is nothing new for experienced cryptography observers, the last opinion of half landed at a time of demand for demand and increased accumulation, creating the perfect storm. In June 2025, the daily program was 450 BTC, while the strategy alone buys more than that per week.
The strategy is not the only whale. Public portfolios linked to the gray scale, the Binance and several ETF guards are now ranked among the biggest BTC holders. In total, the 100 best addresses still control approximately 15% of the total offer.
Critics warn that this creates a concentration of Bitcoin property, where power is consolidated in a small group of hands, which questions the original ethics of decentralization. The richest entities now control a large bitcoin slice: addresses with 10,000 BTC represent 14% of all parts, which raises questions about concentration in relation to confidence. Others argue that it shows confidence: these whales do not return the BTC for rapid profit; They hold for the long match.
Did you know? In mid-2025, around 59% of institutional investors had allocated at least 10% of their Bitcoin portfolios and other digital assets. This marks a spectacular jump from previous years and indicates the Bitcoin transition from a speculative asset to a basic wallet.
Liquidity crunch: Will Bitcoin be exhausted?
No, Bitcoin will not “exhaust”, but the usable and negotiable offer can dry up.
A common misunderstanding is that Bitcoin will disappear from traffic. It is not quite true. However, a Bitcoin liquidity crisis can occur when a large part of the offer is kept offline, in walks or cold FNBs, making trade ineffective.
Already, onchain’s data show that the exchange sales have been at their lowest levels for years. This can cause more volatile price oscillations, both from top to bottom, because small changes in demand have reached a thin offer.
At the beginning of June 2025, the share of Bitcoin on exchanges fell below 11% of the total supply, the lowest level since the beginning of 2018, creating a “dry market” subject to larger price fluctuations.
Will there be a bitcoin supply shock in 2025?
It already takes place, quite simply not at the same time.
You may not see a single explosive moment when Bitcoin “is exhausted”. But all signs indicate a slow combustion BTC power pressure. Minors gaining less from institutions that buy more at whales refusing to sell, the pressure is under construction.
That it triggers an increase in prices depends on one thing: a new request. If retail buyers, companies and nationals continue to accumulate, the limited bitcoin offer could create an increased price feedback and even greater demand.
“In the long term, Bitcoin on the balance sheet has proven to be extraordinarily popular,” said Saylor.
Did you know? Since Michael Saylor’s company (strategy) began to buy Bitcoin in August 2020, the BTC price climbed 700%. The daring accumulation of the strategy has not only increased its own stock market by 2,500%, but has also inspired a wave of institutional and business adoption.
Bitcoin rarity has been tested in real time
The rarity was always part of Bitcoin’s main story, but now it is tested in real time.
The combination of narrowing supply, institutional hobby and minor awards pushes bitcoin in a new phase. Whether you see it as a bullish supply shock or a centralization trend concerning, the dynamics are clear: there is less bitcoin to do.
And it’s not just mathematics; This is perception. If the institutional entries continue and everyday users have trouble buying amounts of small bonuses, a bullish supply shock can emerge.
And yet, the macro backdrop is important:
- Interest rates remain high worldwide.
- Governments are cautious of bitcoin due to regulatory uncertainty and environmental, social and governance concerns (ESG).
- Gold is always favored by central banks as a reserve asset; More than 1,000 tonnes were added to the world reserves in 2024 only.
So, Bitcoin dethrones gold as the first value store? Not yet. But 2025 marks the first time in history where the Bitcoin rarity profile is tighter, its more aggressive supply dynamic and its broader adoption story than Gold’s.
Investors, regulators and average users should closely monitor space. If Saylor and other whales continue to accumulate and the request continues to rise, the real question may not be if there is a supply shock, but the height of the bitcoin when it strikes.
