A Side by Side Look into Retail vs. Institutional Involvement in Cryptocurrency

TWRC Newsroom- Retail Investors in Cryptocurrency

Total number of retail crypto holders (global):

• Around 1.732 billion people globally now own cryptocurrency (about 13% of internet users worldwide). (CoinLaw)

Individual retail participation rates (U.S. and other developed markets):

• Approx 28% of U.S. adults are expected to hold crypto in 2025. (CoinLaw)

• Surveys suggest a global retail investor base >560 million individuals (about 6.8% of the world population). (CoinLaw)

Trends among retail holders:

• Retail crypto holders often first invest via memecoins or familiar assets like Bitcoin/Ether. (CoinLaw)

• Retail investors still hold the majority of Bitcoin wallets, though institutional share is growing. (CoinLaw)

Summary retail investor scale:

Hundreds of millions of individuals hold and invest in crypto globally, making retail the largest numerical category of investors.

Institutional & Corporate Investors in Cryptocurrency

Institutional adoption rates:

• Surveys indicate ~71% of institutional investors now hold some crypto as of 2025. (Coinpaper)

• Many institutions plan to increase their crypto allocations, with 59% planning >5% of assets under management (AUM) in crypto. (CoinLaw)

Corporate holdings & participation:

• Roughly 130 publicly listed companies hold Bitcoin, representing tens of billions in corporate reserves. (Financial Times)

• Some estimates suggest 244+ companies with Bitcoin exposure (per crowd-sourced data), though this isn’t an official census. (Reddit)

Institutional capital scale:

• Institutional crypto AUM has soared, reaching $235+ billion by 2025, up from about $90 billion in 2022. (WalletFinder)

• Hedge funds: ~55% of surveyed hedge funds hold crypto assets, though often with modest allocations. (Reuters)

• ETFs and managed products now represent a major institutional entry point.

Summary institutional/corporate scale:

Thousands of institutions — including asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, and publicly traded corporations — have significant allocations or exposure, but far fewer entities participate compared with retail individuals.

Important Context & Trends

🔹 Retail dominance by count

• A vastly larger number of individual investors hold crypto compared to corporate investors — hundreds of millions of retail holders vs. ~hundreds of companies holding crypto directly. (CoinLaw)

🔹 Institutional & corporate dominance by capital

• While retail outnumbers institutions, institutional assets under management and corporate treasuries dominate total invested capital and market influence. (WalletFinder)

🔹 Trend direction

• Retail participation in liquid markets like spot trading remains strong, but institutional participation is growing faster in capital terms through ETFs, funds, and corporate balance sheets. (CoinLaw)

Limitations

There’s no real-time registry of exact numbers of retail vs corporate investors — data come from surveys, exchange analysis, and adoption studies. Different sources vary in methodology and geographic scope.