Bitcoin Ownership Overtakes Gold as 49.6 Million Americans Now Hold BTC

Bitcoin has overtaken gold as the preferred hard asset among American investors, according to a July report from bitcoin financial services firm River. The firm found that 49.6 million Americans, or 18.6% of the adult population, now own bitcoin, compared to 28.8 million, or 10.8%, who hold gold.

Gold has served as a store of value for roughly 5,000 years, while bitcoin has existed for only about 16 years since its network launched in January 2009. River’s findings indicate that an asset with a fraction of gold’s track record has already built a larger base of individual American owners.

River attributed the shift to favorable regulation, low barriers to entry through exchanges and mobile apps, and an American cultural leaning toward individual investing and financial self-reliance. The report also found that Americans collectively hold approximately 42% of all bitcoin in global circulation, a concentration described as making the United States the “global bitcoin superpower.”

Public companies headquartered in the U.S. hold roughly 1.24 million BTC, representing 92.7% of all bitcoin held by publicly traded companies worldwide. The U.S. government itself holds 328,372 BTC, worth more than $23 billion at recent prices, built up largely through asset seizures. That reserve has become a focal point of legislative efforts, including bills introduced this year to formally codify a strategic bitcoin reserve with a target of accumulating up to 1 million BTC.

Mining infrastructure reinforces the trend: the U.S. accounts for 37.5% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate, and more than 150 bitcoin-related companies are headquartered domestically.

The adoption rate has climbed rapidly. A separate study found that U.S. bitcoin ownership stood at 14.3% at the start of the year, meaning it rose more than four percentage points in roughly six months under River’s latest measurement. Wall Street’s posture has also shifted, with several large U.S. asset managers opening bitcoin ETF distribution to their clients this year, putting bitcoin in front of financial advisors who previously had little reason to discuss the asset with retail clients.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-ownership-surpasses-gold-river-report/