New data shows individual investors still hold the majority of Bitcoin supply, outpacing institutions, corporations, funds, and government wallets.

The past few years have been filled with talk about how institutions have swallowed up the Bitcoin supply. Yet data shows that an overwhelming amount is still held by individuals.

Surprisingly, new data has shown that individuals still retain the most Bitcoin by market share. They hold significantly more than businesses, funds, and ETFS, and even Satoshi-era wallets. Over the past few years, there has been much speculation about the buy-and-hold tactics of corporations and institutions. Yet it may be individuals who are choosing to cling to their crypto.  

Bitcoin’s current market segmentation

With the global geopolitical situation in turmoil, people have been flocking away from risk assets like cryptocurrency in droves. At the time of writing, Bitcoin price stands at $63,730. In the past five days, it has moved within a margin between $60,000 and $65,000, with little sign of breaching the upward curve. For many, this shows that people are not buying, but also not selling, creating stagnation. Yet it is those who hold cryptocurrencies that throw up the most surprises.

A recent study taken from public wallet data has shown that individuals hold 66% of the Bitcoin supply. Mapping wallets that are known to interact with exchanges, custodians, and large holders, it painted a picture of marginal institutional and corporate holdings. In contrast, only 7.8% was given over to businesses, with 7.2% in funds and ETFS. Satoshi-era wallets had 4.6%, while governments held only 2.1%.

Together, the entire institutional investment sector, incorporating businesses and trading bodies, only holds 15% of the supply. Accounting for the remainder, only 4.5% of Bitcoin is left to be mined. An estimated 7.7% of the remainder has been lost. That means 19% spans the other categories, with the rest, roughly two-thirds, held by private individuals.

The social media paradox

This also dispels a recent theory that a lack of social media chatter regarding Bitcoin and Ethereum has been driven by institutional adoption. In July, data was published that showed mentions of the two terms were at their lowest levels in two months on the platform X. Bitcoin mentions had dropped to around 130,000, while Ethereum had fallen to 40,000 per week.

Reports on the data highlighted this as a shift to institutional buying. In particular, many highlighted it as a regression to a time back in 2020, before the institutional era emerged. Yet the new data suggest that there may be other reasons at play, especially as institutions do not hold the amount that people believed.

Firstly, it could be that X is just losing users. This is a trend that has been ongoing, with 33 million users leaving between January 2024 and 2025. These people may have drifted to other places to discuss cryptocurrency. It could be on Reddit, or it could be on private messaging apps like Telegram.

It could also be that people are just going elsewhere for their information. With crypto more widely known about, people are more savvy. Regulatory announcements and the inflows and outflows of ETF products all provide better benchmarks than a speculator on X.

Lastly, crypto may not be as new and exciting as it once was. It has given way to talks about tokenization, and even AI has grabbed many of the headlines that it once promised as a harbinger of a brave new world. As it is no longer the coolest, newest cat in town, less is being spoken about it. By no means does this mean people have lost interest, but it simply signals that people are now accepting it.

How should this impact trading?

During periods of volatility, retail investors are often prone to more emotional trading. They can sell and buy fast, as opposed to companies that have to make long-term decisions, signed off by many people. This has mainly been the reason given for Bitcoin’s current stagnation.

Yet it seems that the opposite is true and that retail investors are actually building resilience. HODL is the sector name for “Hold on for dear life,” which means you keep hold of Bitcoin until it grows exponentially in value. Many investors have held on through tumultuous market cycles. In fact, whales who are private buyers who hold large amounts can often change market courses if they begin to buy up or even dump their cryptocurrency. This suggests that they still do play a huge part in the direction prices can take.

What this does show is that despite what media outlets and those in the crypto industry are saying, the field is still extremely decentralized. For all the hype of institutional adoption and government backing, Bitcoin, particularly, is still held by individuals. Those wanting to see how this changes in the near future must watch inflows and outflows to ETF products, as well as changes to government legislation, not just in the US but beyond. 

Bitcoin miners with operations in Texas are not expected to be impacted by a moratorium on approval of data center projects connected to the state’s grid operator ordered by Governor Greg Abbott, Bernstein analysts said Tuesday.

Abbott on Monday directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit all data centers seeking to connect to the state’s power grid. The duration of the audit was not specified and comes amid increasing public backlash to the pace of data center build-out across the state, The Texas Tribune reported.

Bernstein analysts told clients on Tuesday that as most of the Bitcoin (BTC) miners operating in Texas are under contract for approved electric capacity, those operations are unlikely to be impacted by the moratorium.

“However, we believe, this audit throttles speculative data center pipeline and makes genuine sites with development history more valuable,” the research team led by Gautam Chhugani said in their note. “Bitcoin mining sites are favorably placed with the longest gestation, self-funding infra and local community management,” they said.

They said that the local operations of Cipher Digital (CIFR), Core Scientific (CORZ) and CleanSpark (CLSK) could be the miners most exposed to future public opposition to data center expansion, particularly during ERCOT’s approval process to convert their pipeline assets into grid-connected power capacity.

“We believe with increasing political opposition to new data center projects and fresh capacity being throttled by moratoriums/state directives, the approved MWs become more valuable,” they said, highlighting the Texas mining operations of IREN (IREN), which is fully ERCOT grid approved, as are the operations of Riot Platforms (RIOT).

CIFR shares were down more than 7% in Tuesday’s premarket trading, according to Yahoo Finance data. The miner reported second-quarter results earlier Tuesday, posting a loss of $0.65 per diluted share, widening from last year’s loss of $0.12 per diluted share.

Related: Bitcoin may find bear market bottom in August: 10x Research

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Migration is rarely the result of a single heat wave. It is the culmination of years of mounting losses that steadily erode income, health, and hope.

Consider Santuben Kantibhai, a farmer from Gujarat, India. Over the past two years, her family has endured a cascade of climate and economic shocks. A severe heatwave destroyed much of their standing crop, causing her family’s income to plummet. At the same time, her father—a co-earner who relied on farm labor and daily wage work—developed cataracts that gradually robbed him of his eyesight, making it increasingly difficult for him to help their family earn a living. When another heatwave struck in 2025, crop yields fell again just as his condition required surgery. For Santuben, the question is not whether heat is becoming more dangerous; she already knows it is. It is how many more failed harvests and lost workdays can her family absorb before staying becomes impossible.

Key takeaways

• Dogecoin is trading near $0.070 after declining 3.5% last week.
• DOGE’s long-to-short ratio rose to a one-month high of 1.25, signaling bullish positioning.
• Funding rates remain positive at 0.0074%, indicating stronger demand for long positions.

Dogecoin (DOGE) is holding steady near $0.070 at the time of writing on Tuesday after falling 3.5% last week.

Although the broader technical trend remains bearish, improving derivatives data and bullish divergences across key momentum indicators suggest that selling pressure may be easing. This setup could support a short-term recovery if buyers defend the current support zone.

Derivatives data supports a bullish DOGE outlook

Dogecoin derivatives traders are showing signs of growing optimism. The DOGE long-to-short ratio climbed to 1.25 on Tuesday, its highest level in more than a month, according to CoinGlass. 

A reading above 1 indicates that long positions outnumber shorts, suggesting more traders expect the price to rise.

Dogecoin’s funding rate also supports this bullish outlook. The rate turned positive on July 24 and stood at 0.0074% on Tuesday.

Positive funding rates mean traders holding long positions are paying those with short positions, typically reflecting stronger demand for bullish exposure.

Dogecoin technical outlook: Bullish divergence emerges

Dogecoin is trading near $0.070 on Tuesday but remains below its major moving averages, maintaining a bearish near-term structure.

The 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages are located at $0.075, $0.083, and $0.100, respectively. These levels are expected to act as resistance during any recovery attempt.

However, momentum indicators suggest bearish pressure is beginning to fade. DOGE formed a lower price low on August 1 while the daily Relative Strength Index registered a higher low. This bullish divergence indicates that selling momentum is weakening despite the decline in price.

The Awesome Oscillator reinforces this signal. Its recent lows have been rising while DOGE continues to trade near its price lows, suggesting that downside momentum is losing strength.

Immediate support is located at the horizontal level of $0.070. If DOGE loses this level, the yearly low at $0.067 would become the next key support. A decisive daily close below $0.067 could trigger further losses toward the psychological level of $0.065.

The 50-day EMA at $0.075 represents the first major resistance level. Above it, DOGE could encounter selling pressure around the descending trendline breakout area near $0.080, followed by the 100-day EMA at $0.083 and horizontal resistance at $0.088.

A stronger recovery would require Dogecoin to reclaim the 200-day EMA at $0.100 and the major horizontal barrier at $0.102. Moving above these levels would help ease the prevailing bearish outlook.

A former supervisory FBI agent, Patrick Steven Yaroch, has been charged after prosecutors said he used internal agency systems to obtain credentials for cryptocurrency wallets linked to an adversarial country and then routed funds to his own accounts. The case, detailed in a U.S. federal court filing, highlights how quickly sensitive access credentials can become a direct vector for financial theft in the crypto era.

According to the filing referenced in court documents, Yaroch admitted to 10 unauthorized transfers carried out between late 2024 and early 2025, involving an estimated total of about $1 million in digital assets. Prosecutors said some of the stolen funds were deposited into Suilend to generate yield.

Key takeaways

• Prosecutors allege Yaroch used FBI internal systems to obtain wallet credentials tied to an adversarial country.
• Yaroch admitted to 10 unauthorized crypto transfers between late 2024 and early 2025, totaling roughly $1 million.
• Authorities reportedly recovered devices, seed phrases, and a Trezor wallet used to access accounts on Suilend and on the Kraken exchange.
• Roughly $925,000 was transferred to government-controlled wallets with Yaroch’s cooperation.
• The filing also describes Yaroch using ChatGPT for investment-related advice in May, underscoring the role of opportunistic decision-making amid ongoing access misuse.

Unauthorized wallet access and yield strategy

The court filing says Yaroch’s actions centered on obtaining the ability to access cryptocurrency wallets associated with an adversarial state and using those credentials to move funds to his own crypto wallets. The alleged scheme did not stop at transferring assets—prosecutors say he also placed at least some of the proceeds into Suilend to earn yield.

By admitting to the transfers, Yaroch effectively confirmed that the conduct was not limited to a one-time theft. The admissions, which prosecutors characterize as a sequence of unauthorized moves spanning several months, indicate he maintained control long enough to interact with decentralized finance infrastructure rather than simply cashing out immediately.

The court documents also describe that after Yaroch self-reported the incident, he was placed on administrative leave, later terminated, and then arrested within days.

How investigators say the scheme was executed

Authorities reportedly retrieved multiple items from Yaroch’s Virginia residence, including devices, seed phrases, and a Trezor wallet. Prosecutors said these materials were used to access accounts on Suilend and a crypto exchange, Kraken.

In the course of the case, investigators moved roughly $925,000 in funds into government-controlled wallets with Yaroch’s cooperation. That figure is important for investors and builders to understand: when access to wallet infrastructure and recovery material exists, the “blast radius” can be quickly reduced if authorities can act fast and gain control of the relevant custody or recovery pathways.

While the filing provides the core mechanics of access and recovery, it also implicitly underscores a broader risk for crypto systems: credential theft can be as damaging as direct hacking. If internal credentials are compromised—whether by insiders or those who obtain privileged access—the attacker’s path to funds can be short and highly efficient.

ChatGPT appears in the timeline

Prosecutors say that in May, Yaroch used ChatGPT for advice after posing a scenario about having “a million dollars” and asking how to invest or spend to maximize profit and return. The filing attributes a specific response to ChatGPT about “building a slower-living vineyard/agricultural lifestyle in places like Cilento or Portugal’s Dão region.”

Even though the exchange itself is not a prosecution theory of how the theft occurred, its inclusion in the court filing paints a picture of decision-making during a period when Yaroch had already—or soon after—secured access to assets he could control. For readers, the key takeaway is not the AI recommendation; it is the fact that illicit access can coexist with attempts to rationalize next steps using whatever tools are available.

A pattern of agent-linked crypto theft

This case adds to a small but notable series of prosecutions in which federal officials and agents are accused of misusing crypto access for personal gain.

Earlier, in 2015, former DEA special agent Carl M. Force diverted about $700,000 in Bitcoin before pleading guilty and receiving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence, according to a DOJ statement referenced in the coverage. That case was linked to the investigation involving the dark net marketplace Silk Road.

The DOJ similarly reported that former U.S. Secret Service special agent Shaun W. Bridges stole about $350,000 in BTC in 2015, then pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. Like the Force case, it was tied to the Silk Road investigation.

In this context, the Yaroch matter appears less like an isolated “crypto crime” and more like a recurrence of a specific vulnerability: when law-enforcement-linked access overlaps with crypto custody mechanisms—wallets, seeds, exchange accounts, and yield platforms—there is an opportunity for misuse that can be difficult to detect until after damage is done.

Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph highlighted “fake police raid” tactics connected to a $1M Bitcoin transfer, illustrating how both insider and external coercion routes have been used to move large crypto balances. Taken together, these stories suggest that crypto theft continues to evolve along two parallel tracks: technical attacks and social/credential abuse, sometimes involving high-access individuals.

What to watch next

With the alleged transfers spanning late 2024 through early 2025 and authorities already moving a large portion of funds into government control, the immediate focus will likely shift to how the court evaluates Yaroch’s admissions, the role of credential misuse, and the extent of any additional assets or counterparties involved. For crypto market participants, the practical lesson remains clear: insider credential access and wallet recovery material can convert administrative or investigative power into direct custody of funds, making rapid investigation and wallet-level response essential.