MicroStrategy-led public firms outpace ETFs in BTC buys: What it means for Bitcoin
BTC price momentum has weakened into Q3 despite massive demand from public companies in H1.
- Public treasury companies grew their BTC balance by 18% in Q2.
- ETFs expanded BTC holdings by 8% but still controlled 40% of BTC treasuries.
Public companies, led by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), surpassed U.S. spot ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in Bitcoin [BTC] accumulation during Q2 2025.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries data compiled by CNBC, public companies acquired 131,000 BTC, growing their holdings by 18%. In contrast, ETFs bought 110,000 BTC, a modest 8% increase over the same period.
This marked the third straight quarter where public treasuries outperformed ETF buyers in net accumulation.
Same quarter, same conviction?
In fact, the Q2 growth mirrored Q1, where public firms grew BTC holdings by 17.6%.
However, ETFs only grew 0.5% in Q1, which coincided with heavy macro headwinds and soured market sentiment. Reacting to the divergence, Eric Marie, Head of Research at Ecoinmetrics, stated,
“The institutional buyer who is getting exposure to bitcoin through the ETFs are not buying for the same reason as those public companies who are basically trying to accumulate bitcoin to increase shareholder value at the end of the day.”
He added that public companies aren’t tied to macro headlines or sentiment, like ETF buyers, hence they can accumulate even during plunges.
That strategy seems to be paying off.
ETFs and hedge funds dominated over 40% of the overall BTC treasuries, with 1.4 million BTC. This translates to about 7% of the total BTC supply of 21 million.
Meanwhile, public companies hold 848,333 BTC or 4% of the total BTC supply. Out of the 4%, the Strategy commands the majority of BTC treasuries, about 2.85% of the total supply.
Simply put, public treasuries have been a crucial factor in reducing BTC downside risk or plunges.
Above $100K—But can the momentum hold?
And the accumulation trend of these companies, regardless of the prevailing macro headlines or sentiment, could help the BTC price to stay above $100K.
That said, Q3 has begun on a sluggish note, with the Bitcoin Bull Score Index, an indicator tracking on-chain and technical bullish signals, dropping to a neutral level.
In fact, CryptoQuant’s Head of Research, Julio Moreno, warned that a sustained drop in the index below 60 could derail BTC rallies.
At press time, BTC traded at $107.7K, after bouncing from $105K support. However, the short-term momentum was still in a downtrend unless it decisively breaks above $108K.
