A record number of companies have increased their Bitcoin exposure in the third quarter of this year, even as the crypto market begins to navigate a volatile period.
The number of public companies holding Bitcoin surged to 172, a nearly 40% increase in just three months, according to a tweet from asset manager Bitwise on Wednesday.
As of September 30, these firms collectively held over 1.02 million Bitcoin, worth approximately $117 billion. That number has increased over the last two weeks to 1.02 million and $118.4 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.
“We’re seeing a growing wave of public and private companies increasing their Bitcoin holdings as part of a broader strategic shift,” Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, told Decrypt. “For many, it’s not just a hedge against inflation but a long-term bet on digital assets as a core treasury reserve.”
A deeper look at the data revealed that public companies were the most aggressive accumulators, adding over 193,000 BTC to their balance sheets—a 20.68% quarter-over-quarter increase.
Bitcoin adoption by public companies significantly outpaced growth in other sectors, such as private companies and exchange-traded funds, which saw increases of 2.21% and 6.7%, respectively.
The leading corporate holders include familiar names like MicroStrategy, which holds 640,031 Bitcoin, alongside newer entrants like Metaplanet, which more than doubled its holdings during the quarter.
Institutional interest remained strong as Bitcoin led last week’s inflows with $2.67 billion. In total, digital asset investment products saw $3.17 billion in inflows last week, pushing the year-to-date total to a record $48.7 billion, according to CoinShares' latest report.
Chen attributes the acceleration to a supportive regulatory climate under the Trump administration, citing recent accounting reforms like the approval of U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserves and the SEC’s generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares.
Looking ahead, she expects continued ETF inflows and broader adoption across balance sheets to potentially “push Bitcoin toward $160,000 in the fourth quarter.”
The accumulation is mainly driven by digital asset treasuries, Peter Chung, Head of Research at Presto Research, told Decrypt.
“Their raison d'être is to acquire crypto assets… funded by security issuance in the public market,” Chung added. "As long as there is appetite for their security issuance in the public market, they will continue this effort."
Unlike retail traders with a short-term outlook, institutions invest over a long horizon. The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China is unlikely to impact decision-making for those types of investors, Decrypt was told.
Despite the near-term volatility, analysts have characterized the recent sell-off as a "recalibration" driven by geopolitical tensions rather than a failure of the underlying bullish thesis, suggesting that long-term accumulation trends remain intact.
