Individual Ownership Peaked in 2024 and What Comes Next for Bitcoin

In this episode, Nik sits down with Sam Baker, Research at River, to break down River's second annual Bitcoin adoption report, covering how institutional ownership, registered investment advisors, sovereign holdings, and small business adoption all accelerated in 2025 despite price weakness. Sam explains why individual ownership likely peaked in 2024, why RIAs managing $146 trillion hold less than one basis point in Bitcoin, and what the ownership distribution trend implies for the decade ahead. Nik connects the data to his framework of Bitcoin as a tool of American economic statecraft in the US-China competition for global capital dominance.Episode links: https://river.com/learn/files/river-bitcoin-adoption-report-2026.pdfhttps://x.com/River/status/2026322299595432323?s=20https://btcmap.org/https://x.com/macromule📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm. ▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.📚 Subscribe to TBL’s research letter: https://thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe🎧 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.📱 Follow TBL on X: https://twitter.com/TheBitcoinLayer📩 Join the official TBL channel on Telegram: https://t.me/thebitcoinlayerofficial🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch⛓️ ₿lock Height 938184⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: thebitcoinlayer@zbd.ggNik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtcResearcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschattLead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.