Grayscale quietly buys 17,000 bitcoins, holding 2.43% of total circulation

According to data from bybt.com, Grayscale Investments purchased 17,100 Bitcoins (approximately $182 million) in the past 7 days. The company currently holds close to 450,000 Bitcoins, accounting for about 2.43% of the current circulating supply.

Quietly Acquired 17,100 BTC

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is currently one of the most popular investment tools in the traditional financial sector, having accumulated a large amount of Bitcoin (BTC) in 2020. According to data provided by bybt.com, GBTC issuer Grayscale Investments purchased 17,100 Bitcoins (equivalent to approximately $182 million) in the past 7 days.

From the Grayscale official website, it can also be seen that since the launch of GBTC on September 25, 2013, there are a total of 471 million shares outstanding, with each share worth 0.00095519 BTC. Currently, GBTC manages a total of 449,900 Bitcoins (approximately $4.8 billion), equivalent to 2.14% of the total Bitcoin supply (21 million), or about 2.43% based on the current circulating supply (18.5 million), which would be even higher when accounting for permanently lost Bitcoins.

Companies Buying In Succession

Grayscale is not the only corporate entity that has recently made significant Bitcoin purchases. Microstrategy's CEO Michael Saylor announced on August 11 that the remaining $250 million in the company's balance sheet would be entirely invested in Bitcoin (purchasing a total of 21,454 Bitcoins), and in September, they added 16,796 more Bitcoins. In addition, Middle Eastern cuisine chain Tahinis Restaurants also stated that they have converted all idle assets into Bitcoin; while a Canadian startup Snappa announced that 40% of the company's assets have been invested in Bitcoin.

Many Bitcoin supporters believe that the increasing number of companies making large Bitcoin purchases is beneficial for both buyers and market participants. Morgan Creek co-founder Anthony Pompliano previously stated in an interview with Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor that with Bitcoin's market cap at only $200 billion, still 40 times away from gold's $8 trillion market cap, and Bitcoin outperforming gold in many aspects, he believes that companies like Microstrategy have made the right decision.