The cryptocurrency market has seen a notable shift in recent months as institutional investors have begun trimming their bitcoin holdings. A growing number of companies and large-scale investors that previously accumulated bitcoin are now moving to liquidate significant portions of their portfolios in response to sustained price pressures.
Accelerating bitcoin sales from major institutions
A wave of bitcoin selling, particularly among publicly traded companies previously viewed as long-term holders, has gained momentum as market sentiment weakens. Empery Digital, a digital asset management firm based in the United States, recently sold 370 bitcoins at an average price of $66,632 each, generating roughly $24.7 million in proceeds. Following this sale, the company’s total bitcoin holdings dropped to 2,989 coins. Part of the revenue was used to settle company debts, and Empery Digital also announced the release of 1,800 bitcoins that had been held as collateral.
Empery Digital began accumulating bitcoin in July 2025 and had grown its reserves to nearly 4,000 coins at its peak. However, the company has seen its share value decline by around 75% since its 2025 high, reflecting broader market difficulties.
Genius Group, an education technology platform with a focus on artificial intelligence, opted to liquidate all its remaining bitcoin due to prevailing market conditions and a heavy debt load. After peaking at 440 bitcoins in 2023, the company gradually reduced its holdings, recently selling the final 84 coins to cover $8.5 million in debt. Genius Group executives indicated that they could reconsider building a bitcoin portfolio if more favorable market conditions emerge in the future.
Mining companies and governments also selling
The recent selling trend is not limited to mid-sized companies. Riot Platforms, one of the leading bitcoin miners in the U.S., has also been seen selling down its reserves, according to blockchain data. On Wednesday, the company transferred about 500 bitcoins, converting them to approximately $34.13 million. Riot says the proceeds are being allocated to new growth areas, including investments in high-performance computing. In the span of just two months, Riot Platforms has sold around $200 million worth of bitcoin, yet still holds about 17,500 bitcoins in reserve, sourced largely through ongoing mining operations.
A similar narrative has played out at the state level. The government of Bhutan, which last October held over 13,000 bitcoins amassed through its own mining activities, has rapidly reduced its bitcoin stockpile. To date, Bhutan has sold a total of 3,103 bitcoins, according to public records. Notably, a single transaction on March 30 saw a further 375 bitcoins sold.
Despite this wave of institutional selling, the limited total supply of bitcoin—and the substantial holdings retained by public institutions—remain key factors that continue to shape the broader market dynamic.
Even as public companies and governments offload portions of their portfolios, the number of bitcoins held by transparent, publicly disclosed investors still stands at 1,164,800. This figure represents more than 5% of the maximum bitcoin supply, which is capped at 21 million coins.
As for market prices, at the time of publication bitcoin was trading at roughly $66,500, having shed more than 2% of its value over the previous 24 hours.
