Institutional appetite for BTC picks up

Corporate BTC uptick reshapes crypto trading activity: Companies worldwide — many unrelated to crypto — are upping their BTC trading volumes, mirroring a strategy that ignited explosive stock rallies for early adopters. The uptick of holdings by institutions is evidenced through the decline in BTC trading transactions despite a sustained rise in settlement values, Bloomberg reports.

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By the numbers: Network transactions this year are down from as much as 700k per day in 2024 to 500k per day, the business news information service said, citing data from Glassnode analysts, but the value traded is roughly the same, with 2025 seeing about USD 7 bn traded everyday. This points to less people trading more, and signals institutional dominance.

“[A] lot of appetite from all types of institutions from family offices to asset managers to pension funds to sovereign wealth fund[s],” are behind the uptick, XBTO Trading LLC trader George Mandres said. Opting into an ETF is more likely when it comes to individual investors, he added.

The cryptocurrency has clawed back post-tariff losses from the spring and has climbed over 50% since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Financial Times reports. The salmon-colored paper also noted its rising popularity and acceptance amongst investors and regulators, making the case for it being classified as a “mainstream asset.”

Elsewhere, the FT reported a 170% uptick over the past year in the number of BTC tokens held by firms, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net. A handful of companies, like software firm MicroStrategy, account for the majority of this, though it’s yet to be seen whether the holdings would weather a sustained price downturn. Companies using debt to buy BTC could be especially susceptible to potential price pressures.

The big names: Today, over 130 public companies hold USD 87 bn worth of the token, or about 3.2% of BTC’s eventual total supply. Tesla, Twenty One Capital, Metaplanet, and — predictably — Trump Media & Technology Group, which is planning a USD 2.5 bn BTC treasury, are also among the global firms with the largest numbers of BTC holdings.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are firmly in the red amid fears of a wider conflict following the US’ attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. South Korea’s Kospi leads losses with a 1.05% decline, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.6% and China’s CSI 300 sank 0.4%. Over on Wall Street, futures are also declining following the weekend’s events.

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.3% yesterday on turnover of SAR 3.7 bn. The index is down 12.2% YTD.

In the green: Alistithmar Reit (+10.0%), Alsagr Insurance (+10.0%) and KEC (+5.4%).

In the red: Retal (-5.1%), Flynas (-4.1%) and Chemical (-3.9%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.1% yesterday on turnover of SAR 20.5 mn. The index is down 16.9% YTD.

In the green:Meyar (+8.9%), iOud (+8.7%) and Future Care (+8.3%).

In the red: Alqemam (-7.2%), NBM (-6.8%) and Itmam (-6.1%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

ArabianPlastic Industrial Company (Apico) will increase its capital by 50% to SAR 75 mn, issuing one bonus share for every two existing ones and bringing the total number of shares to 7.5 mn, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul (pdf) yesterday. The move, which will be financed from the company’s retained earnings, contributes to the company’s growth plans.