The Growing Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin
The first and largest cryptocurrency is increasingly viewed as a store of value. A rising share of it is being acquired, both intentionally and not, by companies, investment funds, and governments.
With a market capitalization of nearly $2 trillion as of late 2024, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is by far the world’s largest cryptocurrency.1 At this valuation, Bitcoin is over four times more valuable than the second-ranked cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH), more valuable than the total value of all silver in the world, and more valuable than the market capitalizations of all but five companies worldwide.2 Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that rely on a peer-to-peer computer network and cryptographic software to make and validate transactions, rather than relying on a single authority like a central bank or government to issue a currency that is then used for transactions. Bitcoin is the first and oldest cryptocurrency. Its most ardent proponents view it as an inflation-resistant replacement for the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency, or for gold as a long-term store of value. In July 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to make the U.S. the “Bitcoin superpower” of the world.3 After over fifteen years of existence, the price of a bitcoin in U.S. dollars has gone from pennies to surpass $100,000 per bitcoin as of late 2024, and a growing number of bitcoins are held by governments and established companies including BlackRock and Tesla.4