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With its recent powerful move to a new threshold, Bitcoin seems to be taking over the market, attracting a notable wave of investors, both institutional and retail investors. BTC’s presence at the institutional level has seen sharp growth as publicly traded companies acquire the crypto king at a massive scale.

Public Companies Embrace Bitcoin Strategy

Bitcoin has evolved from a mere digital asset to a highly sought-after mainstream asset in the cryptocurrency and financial sectors. Presently, BTC is taking over the spotlight as many well-known publicly traded companies have shown significant interest in the flagship asset.

What was previously the purview of early adopters and tech-savvy investors is now being adopted by corporate giants in an effort to gain a strategic advantage in the rapidly changing financial world. Brian Harrod of The Harrod Report has taken to the X platform to outline the number of public companies holding BTC in large chunks.

In the X post, Harrod shared a report from Bitwise, a leading asset manager, which shows that publicly traded companies that have now added BTC to their holdings have reached a total of 125. This growing wave of institutional adoption reflects a robust conviction in the crypto king, as businesses view BTC not just as a speculative asset, but a hedge against inflation and global printing.

Data shows that these prominent corporate firms have accumulated a cumulative supply of 847,000 BTC, valued at approximately $91 billion at current price levels. The significant accumulation of these companies underscores the expanding role of institutions in the broader market.

BTC’s price has responded notably to the ongoing development, surging to a new all-time high. According to Harrod, analysts believe that this rising demand among corporate giants, coupled with a more transparent regulatory environment, has been the main driver of BTC’s latest leg up. However, they also warned that the sharp price movements still present hazards for novice investors.

With many companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets, the flagship asset’s price and its market value have increased sharply, surpassing that of Amazon. BTC is now ranked the fifth-largest asset behind Gold, NVIDIA, Apple, and Microsoft, in the world by market cap after dethroning Amazon.

Strategy Still Leading The Charge

The chart shows that Michael Saylor’s Strategy is still leading the charge,  followed by MARA Holdings, Twenty One, Riot Platforms, and Mateplanet. Strategy’s position at the top underscores the company’s unwavering trust in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects.

Michael Saylor, the co-founder of Strategy, recently reemphasized his belief in BTC in a recent post on X. According to the chairman, the only thing better than Bitcoin in the past five years is more Bitcoin.

His audacious Bitcoin wager has turned out to be one of the most successful investments of the last five years. Saylor highlighted that the firm’s stock has seen a 3,588% return since adopting a BTC standard in 2020.

Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

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A second-quarter survey of 18 mainstream news outlets logged 1,116 Bitcoin (BTC) stories and measured sentiment at 31% positive, 41% neutral, and 28% negative, according to Bitcoin analysis firm Perception.

The data reveal a significant gap between finance-focused media that cover the market extensively and legacy publications that rarely address it.

Sparse coverage

Perception counted two Bitcoin articles in The Wall Street Journal, 11 in the Financial Times, and 11 in The New York Times. These totals trailed every finance-oriented title in the sample and even lagged mid-tier general outlets. 

Audiences that rely on these newspapers for market intelligence received almost no information on an asset that outperformed broad indexes again in the quarter. The report referred to this mismatch as an “editorial blind-spot risk” because institutional investors may base their portfolio decisions on incomplete information.

High-volume business channels drove the most constructive coverage. Forbes produced 194 Bitcoin stories with a positive-to-negative ratio of roughly 1.8:1. At the same time, CNBC published 141 items at 2.5:1; and Fortune filed 117 pieces that leaned modestly positive.

These outlets focused on adoption metrics, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), treasury allocations, and mining economics, presenting Bitcoin as a viable macro asset rather than a novelty.

Negative framing clustered elsewhere. The Independent ran 45 stories with a 2.3:1 negative tilt, while Fox News and Barron’s delivered smaller volumes but similar skepticism, focusing on crime, cybersecurity breaches, and price volatility. 

Perception grouped coverage into three narrative blocs: enthusiastic adoption (Forbes, CNBC), willful minimalism (WSJ, FT, NYT), and persistent skepticism led by traditional general interest outlets.

Information asymmetry

According to the report, the divergence matters because large-cap digital assets now trade with liquidity comparable to some G-10 currencies, and exchange-listed spot ETFs cleared record volumes during the quarter. 

Asset managers that monitor only the low-volume publications may miss regulatory developments, fund flow data, and corporate treasury moves that the high-volume cohort documents in near real-time.

The report concluded that the coverage split creates both risk and opportunity: risk for institutions that depend on undersupplied channels and opportunity for readers who follow the outlets that closely track market mechanics. 

With sentiment and story counts quantifiable every quarter, portfolio teams can benchmark media exposure against price action and adjust their information sources accordingly.

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Belgium’s KBC Bank is set to open the door to cryptocurrencies for everyday investors. Based on reports from Belga News Agency, the bank will let retail clients buy Bitcoin and Ether through its Bolero platform starting this autumn.

It’s a first for a big Belgian bank. Until now, people in Belgium have had to turn to global players like Coinbase, Binance or neo‑banks such as Revolut and Bunq for crypto access.

Belgian banking group KBC will allow retail clients to trade bitcoin and ether via its investment platform Bolero starting this autumn. The move marks the first time a major Belgian bank enters the crypto market. https://t.co/XsMwllIV1l#Belga #Belgium #Crypto #Bitcoin

— Belga News Agency_English (@Belga_English) July 2, 2025

Regulatory Nod In Sight

According to De Tijd, KBC is working on getting approval as a digital currency service provider under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) rules.

The bank expects a green light from supervisors by this autumn. If all goes well, Bolero users will see a new “Crypto” tab in their accounts where they can pick how much Bitcoin or Ether to buy.

KBC says it’s building in safeguards around security and know‑your‑customer checks to meet rules on anti‑money laundering.

Image: Bryan O'Brien.

Competition And Caution

Other big Belgian banks are watching closely. Belfius has shown interest in adding BTC via its Rebel app, but ING and BNP Paribas Fortis have stayed on the sidelines for now.

Retail investors have been asking their banks to offer crypto services for a while. KBC’s move could spark a wave of similar offers, or it might remain unique if regulators drag their feet.

Young Investors Drive Demand

Interest in bitcoin is highest among younger Belgians. A recent survey by the Financial Services and Markets Authority found that 43% of people under 29 already invest in crypto, and that number climbs to 45% for those under 30.

Many say they feel more comfortable trading familiar coins like Bitcoin rather than exploring smaller tokens. KBC hopes these stats will draw more clients to Bolero as it adds the digital currency option.

Pending MiCA approval, KBC plans to roll out its trading feature on Bolero this autumn. Industry observers will be watching to see whether other Belgian banks follow suit or maintain a more cautious stance.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Unfortunately, most people don’t care much about how easy the fancy stuff they buy is to fix. It will break down, go bad, or wear out eventually, so it’s worth thinking about even just a little, but few people do.

I’m not here to change your mind or tell you how to think, but repairability is one of the most important factors for me when it comes to the features of the products I buy. Maybe because I’m good enough at it to be dangerous, or maybe because I’m cheap, but knowing I can fix something at half the cost instead of replacing it is important, even though my favorite phone is impossible to fix. Dammit.

If you’re one of the people who do care about fixing your stuff, you gotta love seeing what’s happening in the world of Bluetooth headphones lately. I’m not talking about improvements in the sound department, though I understand that is getting better, but about how companies are starting to make stuff you can either fix yourself or get someone else to fix for you. Awesome.

Sony’s new WH-1000XM6 headphones (man, these stupid names) are the latest set making a bit of a buzz in the way you want your headphones to make a buzz. As iFixit shows us in a teardown video, screws replace a lot of glue, and everything is laid out so you can get to it without cutting open any plastic.

Sony’s WH-1000XM6 Teardown! A Repair Friendly Upgrade! – YouTube

Watch On

It still might look a little confusing once you see all the parts, but compared to the way companies used to bury those parts in glue and plastic, it’s a big change. And it’s a good change — even if you never plan to fix something like a pair of headphones yourself, this will let a qualified technician do it at half the cost. That’s money saved you could spend on other stuff like groceries or weed.

You might think that fixing an old pair of headphones is nothing new, but we’re talking about Bluetooth technology here. You know, with little circuit boards and batteries and ribbon cables. That’s a lot different from your old headset held together with electrical tape and speaker wire. Yeah, I have those, too.

Even more encouraging is seeing earbuds becoming repairable. I don’t just mean the Fairphone Fairbuds, though they are the ultimate fixable set of buds you can buy. Companies like Sony, PQ, and even Amazon make earbuds that aren’t impossible to crack open and fix once they go bad. When they go bad, because they will.

Unfortunately, we aren’t seeing the same from every company. Apple, Samsung, and Google sell some very recognizable earbuds that a lot of people use with their smartphones. Consider them all to be disposable, because you probably won’t be able to fix them or find someone else who can fix them for less than buying a new pair.

Some things aren’t going to become more repair-friendly because of what they are or how they are made. Some shouldn’t be repairable, like things you plug into the wall or a charging cable, because someone somewhere will get hurt trying to mess with them. Someone like me, probably.

In the meantime, seeing more of the stuff we buy when we pick up a new phone, being more friendly when it comes to you and your toolkit, is great. Here’s hoping other companies see the light and get on board.