River analysts have reported a significant increase in Bitcoin adoption by institutional investors, governments, and public companies in 2025.
The number of institutional buyers has reached an all-time high, with 829,000 BTC amassed by businesses, governments, funds, and ETFs last year. Registered investment advisers have been buying Bitcoin for two years, allocating about $1.5bn per quarter to spot crypto-based structures, giving millions of retail clients access to the asset via brokerage accounts and retirement plans.
Roughly 60% of leading US banks have joined efforts to develop products geared to digital gold, thanks to a favorable regulatory environment in the United States that allows banks to custody cryptocurrency and offer Bitcoin products to their clients. Corporations were the prime buyers of the crypto market's flagship in 2025, with demand led by DAT companies whose number rose 2.5-fold over the year.
The use of Bitcoin for payments has also seen a significant increase, with the number of US firms accepting Bitcoin payments tripling and global usage jumping 74%. Transactions over the Lightning Network have risen 300% year-on-year, with River estimates that the network now processes more than $1.1bn a month.