The Bitcoin (BTC) Treasury Department reached record keeping of 840,000 BTC in August, but underlying data reveals a weakening of institutional demand.
A September 5 report by Cryptoquant found that purchase volumes and transaction sizes plummeted to multi-year lows.
The strategy led to the accumulation of Bitcoin for companies at 637,000 BTC, accounting for 76% of the Ministry of Total Finance. At the same time, 32 other companies are managing the remaining 203,000 BTC.
Holdings have skyrocketed following the US presidential election in November 2024, with the strategy more than doubled its position from 279,000 to 637,000 BTC, while other companies have expanded their holdings by 13 times from 15,000 to 203,000 BTC.
Decrease in purchasing volume
The strategy acquired 3,700 BTC in August, a dramatic decline from the 134,000 BTC purchased in November 2024. Other finance companies purchased 14,800 BTC.
The average Bitcoin per transaction fell to 1,200 on the strategy and 343 on other companies, down 86% from the early 2025 high. This report attributed small transaction sizes to liquidity constraints among institutional buyers or to potential market reluctance.
Monthly holding growth slowed sharply due to strategy, falling from 44% in December 2024 to just 5% in August. Other finance companies experienced a similar pattern, with monthly growth rates falling from 163% in March to 8% in August.
Despite recording 53 purchase transactions in June and maintaining an uptick in activity through August with 46 transactions, frequency masks reduce institutional appetite. The finance company only completed 14 transactions in November 2024, so the current levels look robust in comparison.
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The report focuses on purely play public Bitcoin finance companies with over 1,000 BTC, except for mining companies and companies with substantial business operations such as Tesla and Coinbase.
Increases regulatory and market pressure
The Treasury is facing new regulatory headwinds as Nasdaq implements shareholder approval requirements for share issuances used to purchase cryptocurrency.
The rules change targets crypto and finance playbooks in which public companies sell stocks or convertibles to fund token purchases. As a result, this change could slow the fast capital deployment that characterizes 2025.
Additionally, Sequans Communications became the first Bitcoin finance company to adjust the US depositary stock structure and perform an inverse inventory split to maintain NYSE listing requirements.
The company manages 3,205 btc, worth around $355 million, but this year it fell 75%, raising concerns about potential asset sales to protect the stock price.
The report concluded by revealing a similar pattern to the 2020-2021 cycle, when strategic holding growth peaked at 78% and then fell to 6% after a year. The current setup suggests that institutions’ Bitcoin accumulation could enter a similar slowdown phase.