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Key Trends ARK Invest Says Will Reshape Bitcoin Adoption in 2026

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Nexo Partners with Bakkt for US Crypto Exchange and Yield Programs

TLDR:

  • ETFs and DATs held 12% of Bitcoin supply by end of 2025, exceeding new supply absorption.
  • Sovereign holdings now include 325,437 BTC in the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
  • Bitcoin drawdowns remain below 50% in the current cycle, reflecting deeper market liquidity.
  • ETFs reached adoption levels in under two years that gold ETFs took over 15 years to achieve.

Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a strategic asset for institutional investors. 

Spot ETFs, corporate treasuries, and sovereign holdings absorbed more supply than miners produced in 2025. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s early rate cuts and monetary easing have increased demand for scarce digital assets. 

Regulatory clarity, including the U.S. CLARITY Act, supports broader adoption across traditional financial platforms.

Structural Demand and ETF Expansion

Spot Bitcoin ETFs reshaped the supply-demand balance, absorbing 1.2 times the newly mined supply and recirculated coins in 2025, according to ARK Invest data. 

By year-end, ETFs and digital asset treasuries (DATs) controlled over 12% of bitcoin’s total supply. Morgan Stanley and Vanguard expanded access to regulated Bitcoin products, including ETFs, creating a bridge to traditional capital pools. 

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Even amid a major October liquidation and market volatility, ETF growth outpaced supply expansion, reflecting stronger structural demand.

Corporate adoption also expanded, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices including bitcoin-exposed companies like Coinbase and Block. Digital asset treasury firms now hold over 1.1 million BTC, representing 5.7% of total supply, mostly long-term holdings. 

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, maintains 3.5% of bitcoin’s total supply as a treasury reserve. Sovereign involvement increased, highlighted by the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holding approximately 325,437 BTC, or 1.6% of supply.

The expansion of regulated vehicles and institutional demand coincides with regulatory progress. The CLARITY Act aims to define the lifecycle of digital assets and streamline oversight between the SEC and CFTC

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Texas and other states continued state-level Bitcoin adoption, further signaling government acceptance. Clear guidelines support allocation by institutional investors, strengthening bitcoin’s role as a macro instrument.

Bitcoin’s Relationship to Gold and Market Maturity

Historically, Bitcoin has followed gold’s lead during macro shocks. In 2025, gold surged 64.7% amid inflation concerns, while Bitcoin declined 6.2%, echoing patterns seen in 2016 and 2019. 

ETFs indicate growing confidence in Bitcoin as a store-of-value, achieving in two years what gold ETFs required 15 years to reach. Weekly correlation data show low alignment between Bitcoin and gold, suggesting Bitcoin can diversify portfolios independently of traditional assets.

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Market volatility is declining, with drawdowns from record highs under 50% since 2022, compared to 70–80% in prior cycles. 

Time-in-market strategies continue to outperform timing-focused approaches, with hypothetical investors from 2020–2025 gaining 29–61% despite corrections. These trends suggest Bitcoin is maturing from a speculative asset into a liquid macro instrument with robust trading infrastructure.

Long-term holders, including ETFs, corporations, and sovereigns, now absorb a meaningful portion of new supply. With regulatory clarity and growing institutional access, Bitcoin is increasingly recognized as a strategic allocation rather than an optional investment.

Low correlations with traditional assets and diminished volatility reinforce its potential to improve portfolio risk-adjusted returns.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin ETFs Post $105M Outflows As Hong Kong Buyer Emerges

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Bitcoin ETFs Post $105M Outflows As Hong Kong Buyer Emerges

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted $104.9 million in net outflows on Tuesday in the first trading session this week.

Total trading volume in spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs fell to just over $3 billion, down nearly 80% from a record $14.7 billion on Feb. 5, reflecting a continued slowdown in trading activity, according to SoSoValue data.

Daily flows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs since Feb. 9, 2026. Source: SoSoValue

The outflows came as another round of institutions reported their Bitcoin ETF holdings for the fourth quarter of 2025, with Jane Street ranking as the second-largest buyer of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in Q4, buying $276 million.

Q4 also saw a new IBIT entrant, an obscure Hong Kong-based company called Laurore, which acquired $436.2 million of the ETF in a single purchase reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

A potential sign of Chinese institutions moving into Bitcoin?

According to Bitwise Investments adviser Jeff Park, Laurore’s newly disclosed position in IBIT could be an early indication of institutional Chinese capital entering Bitcoin.

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Park said Laurore has no public footprint — no website or press — and the only available information is that the filer’s name is Zhang Hui, the Chinese equivalent of “John Smith.”

Source: Jeff Park

While Park speculated that the investment may be linked to capital flight, some commentators questioned why the company would choose to buy Bitcoin through an ETF rather than directly.

Brevan Howard slashes IBIT holdings by 85%

Beyond Laurore and Jane Street, several institutions made significant moves with IBIT in Q4 2025. Weiss Asset Management reportedly added about 2.8 million shares ($107.5 million), while 59 North Capital increased its position by 2.6 million shares ($99.8 million).

Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment firm Mubadala Investment also boosted its IBIT holdings by 45%, rising from 8.7 million shares in Q3 to 12.7 million in Q4, valued at $630.7 million.

Source: Zerohedge

In contrast, some companies cut their Bitcoin ETF exposure in Q4 2025. Brevan Howard reduced its IBIT holdings, dropping about 85% from 37 million shares ($2.4 billion) in Q3 2025 to about 5.5 million shares ($273.5 million) in Q4.

Goldman Sachs also trimmed its IBIT holdings by about 40%, leaving around $1 billion in assets.

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