Bitcoin’s Growing Influence in Cryptocurrency Portfolios and Institutional Adoption
According to a recent report from Bybit, Bitcoin exposure is increasing in cryptocurrency portfolios. This trend is driven by more innovation-friendly US crypto regulations and growing institutional adoption, fueled by the introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin’s Dominance in Investment Portfolios
As of May, Bitcoin (BTC) accounts for approximately one-third of investor portfolios, or 30.95% of total assets held by investors, up from 25.4% in November 2024. This makes Bitcoin the largest single asset held by cryptocurrency investors, the report states. Meanwhile, the Ether (ETH) to Bitcoin holding ratio plunged to a 2025 low of just 0.15 at the end of April, before recovering to the current 0.27.
This means that for every $1 worth of Ether, investors are likely holding an additional $4 worth of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s Performance and Institutional Adoption
Bitcoin outperformed all major global assets after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, including the stock market, equities, treasuries, and precious metals. This garnered significant interest as a portfolio diversifier asset that can generate additional returns, reported Cointelegraph in March 2025.
Bitcoin’s robust returns have inspired a new wave of institutional adoption, which has seen corporate Bitcoin holding companies nearly double since June 5. Over 244 companies are now holding Bitcoin on their balance sheet, up from 124 firms just weeks ago, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
A total of 3.45 million Bitcoin is held in treasuries, with 834,000 or 3.97% of the total supply in public company treasuries and over 1.39 million Bitcoin or 6.6% through the spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The growing institutional adoption may put Bitcoin on track to $1.8 million by 2035, as the world’s first cryptocurrency will start rivaling gold’s $22 trillion market capitalization, according to Joe Burnett, director of market research at Unchained.
“When I think about where Bitcoin will be in 10 years, there are two models I admire,” Burnett said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction show. “One is the parallel model, which suggests that Bitcoin will be about $1.8 million in 2035.
Shift in Retail and Institutional Crypto Allocations
Decline in Retail Bitcoin Holdings
Despite solid momentum, retail traders’ Bitcoin allocations fell by 37% since November 2024, to just 11.6% — around half of the percentage held by institutions.
Retail traders have most likely “disposed of the Bitcoin holdings in order to purchase altcoins,” including XRP (XRP) and stablecoins.
Increasing XRP Holdings and ETF Expectations
Meanwhile, the percentage of XRP held in portfolios has doubled, from 1.29% in November 2024 to 2.42% as of May, driven by growing ETF expectations, according to the Bybit report:
“The crypto investing industry view is that Ripple spot ETF approval is likely ahead of such approval for Solana spot ETF.”
“As such, we’ve observed partial capital allocation on the part of institutions from SOL to XRP,” the report states.
Decline in Solana Holdings
Meanwhile, Solana portfolio holdings plunged from 2.72% in November to just 1.76% as of May.
Image Credit: cointelegraph.com
