According to asset management firm Fidelity Digital Assets, Bitcoin (BTC) could be entering a new era and become illiquid in the next decade. Based on a report on the future of the Bitcoin market, which was released by the investment giant on Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 42% of the current Bitcoin supply, which amounts to about 8.3 million BTC, could be in the hands of those who are unwilling to sell.
Since Bitcoin usually leads the whole crypto market (with over 57% dominance), changes like this can affect how investors act in other areas, including with new crypto presales and new Web3 projects. Crypto presales let people buy tokens early and reap significant benefits following the asset’s market launch, but how well they do still depends a lot on the overall market mood, which could be driven by Bitcoin’s price and how much of it is available to trade.
According to the report, two groups could be responsible for the illiquidity of BTC. They are long-term holders and publicly traded firms. Fidelity notes that Bitcoin could become illiquid by 2032, given that the circulating supply of both contributors has gone up by at least 90% in the past four years.
The report highlighted that of these two contributors, public companies hold at least 1,000 Bitcoin. Both groups currently hold Bitcoin worth $628 billion at an average market price of $107,700.
Public companies, especially, have been increasing their Bitcoin holdings over the past five years. Since 2020, they have experienced only one quarter-over-quarter decrease in their total Bitcoin supply, and their holdings have significantly increased since the 4th quarter of last year.
Just recently, Strategy grabbed 525 BTC from circulation, valued at $60 million. This brings the company’s total collection to an impressive 639,000 BTC, valued at $73 billion. The next major BTC holder is MARA Holdings with about 50,000 BTC.
As of June 2025, public companies collectively hold over 830,000 BTC, with the top 30 owners holding a large portion of the total supply. If long-term holders can maintain the rate of accumulation that has characterized the market for the past decade, they could own over six million of the total Bitcoin that will ever exist by the end of this year, and by 2032, 42% of the total BTC supply could become illiquid.
If Bitcoin does become illiquid, it would reduce the amount of the precious token available on the market, which would have a positive impact on its price. Although the report doesn’t consider the fact that more public companies could acquire BTC, it predicts that there is a high possibility for Bitcoin to become illiquid, as current holders may keep increasing their holdings.
While long-term holders of Bitcoin haven’t witnessed a reduction in supply since 2016, this trend could still change as it points to the fact that over 80,000 “ancient BTC”, which have been kept in wallets for more than a decade, were sold in July 2025.
With the possibility of Bitcoin becoming illiquid, there are questions about how investors and Bitcoin whales would react. In the past month, when the price of Bitcoin dipped by 2%, it witnessed its most significant sell-off since mid-2022, as Bitcoin whales collectively sold BTC worth about $12.7 billion.
While these sudden movements by Bitcoin whales have a negative impact on the market as they push down the price, there are more worries about how these movements could accelerate or decelerate the process of Bitcoin becoming illiquid.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
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