Banks build systems to serve 13.9M BTC held by individuals

Major banks have built custody, trading, lending and investment systems designed to serve roughly 13.9 million Bitcoin held by individual owners. Strategy’s Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index gives 25 large banks a composite score of 32% for the depth of those services.

The index measures banks’ infrastructure across custody, trade execution, investment products, lending programs and public leadership on Bitcoin. The score reflects how far institutions have developed the plumbing needed to custody clients’ Bitcoin, execute orders, accept coins as collateral and offer packaged investment products. The index does not measure whether banks own Bitcoin.

Estimates of ownership put individuals in control of 66.1% of Bitcoin’s 21 million maximum supply, about 13.9 million BTC. Businesses hold about 7.8% and funds and ETFs about 7.2%, combining to roughly 15% or about 3.15 million BTC.

A bank can hold a customer’s Bitcoin in custody, execute trades on the customer’s behalf or accept Bitcoin as collateral while the customer remains the beneficial owner. Whether assets can be rehypothecated, used for margin, or transferred depends on the terms of custody, brokerage or lending agreements.

If 10% of the 13.9 million BTC held by individuals moved onto bank-controlled custody or brokerage accounts, about 1.39 million BTC would sit on bank-run rails. At 25%, around 3.47 million BTC would be on bank infrastructure; at 50%, about 6.94 million BTC. In those scenarios, banks would collect custody and transaction fees, gain reporting visibility and expand the capacity to lend against collateral. Customers would retain price exposure and beneficial ownership subject to account and custody terms.

Several regulatory and accounting changes have altered conditions for banks to expand crypto services. The SEC issued a policy rescinding the prior accounting guidance known as SAB 121. The Federal Reserve removed a requirement that state member banks give advance notice before starting crypto-asset activities and folded oversight into standard supervision. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has affirmed that national banks may buy and sell crypto assets held in custody at a customer’s direction. The Basel Committee’s disclosure framework for bank cryptoasset exposures became part of the Basel Framework on Jan. 1, 2026, requiring qualitative and quantitative disclosures by internationally active banks in jurisdictions that implement the standard.

How much of the individually held 13.9 million BTC moves onto bank-controlled infrastructure will depend on custody terms, operational reliability, fees, withdrawal limits and client preferences for self-custody or intermediated accounts.