Bitcoin (BTC) has been declining since its all-time high of $126,000 last October. While bearish predictions continue for BTC, which has seen a 50% drop from its recent all-time high, one report argues that it’s not actually a full-blown bear market.
Bitcoin financial services firm River stated in its new report that despite the significant drop in Bitcoin’s price, its adoption is rapidly increasing.
“Bitcoin has fallen 50% from its all-time high. However, usage rates are increasing in ways that haven’t yet affected the price.”
There is no bear market in Bitcoin adoption.
According to the report, trust in Bitcoin has increased faster than trust in any other asset in history.
At this point, institutional investors have accumulated a total of 829,000 BTC over the past year through companies, governments, funds, and ETFs.
The report notes that Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) have been net buyers for eight quarters, and spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen inflows of approximately $1.5 billion per quarter over the past two years.
Furthermore, with the regulatory environment improving compared to the past, it is reported that approximately 60% of major US banks are developing Bitcoin-related products.
In 2025, businesses became the largest buyers of BTC, and their purchase volumes increased 2.5 times year-on-year.
Nation-state adoption has also expanded, with five new countries, including Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth funds, the Czech central bank, Brazil, and Taiwan, beginning to hold Bitcoin.
This brings the number of countries holding BTC through mining, confiscated assets, or central banks to 23.
Based on these trends in 2025, River concluded that the rate of future BTC adoption is likely to increase even further.
*This is not investment advice.
