Nation-States Surge Ahead in Bitcoin Adoption Leaving Individuals Behind
Cryptocurrency analyst Willy Woo reported a significant shift in Bitcoin (BTCUSD) adoption, with nation-states increasingly outpacing individual investors. According to a chart from River, the number of countries holding Bitcoin rose from two in 2016 to 23 by 2025. Meanwhile, individuals reduced their Bitcoin holdings by 696,000 BTC in 2025, while nation-states added 135,000 BTC in the same period. River projects that individual Bitcoin ownership will continue to decline by 2036, while government and corporate holdings are expected to grow.
Woo highlighted that approximately 5% of the global population owns Bitcoin, with 12% of countries holding some and 8% of nations having policies to acquire or hold it. The U.S. government holds the largest reserves, with 324,527 BTC worth nearly $28 billion, primarily seized from criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings. This makes the U.S. the nation-state with the largest BTC reserves, followed by China and the U.K.
The U.S. government, under former President Trump, signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, funded entirely with BTC already held through criminal and civil asset forfeiture. The order directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to find budget-neutral ways to acquire more BTC. As of the report, BTC is down 0.10% in the last 24 hours to $85,905.