Public companies holding at least 1,000 Bitcoin more than doubled to 49 firms by year-end 2025, up from 22 at the close of 2024, according to Fidelity Digital Assets' 2026 Look Ahead report.
These 49 companies now collectively control nearly 5% of Bitcoin's total 21 million supply, with strategic investors holding approximately 80% of all corporate Bitcoin reserves.
The surge came despite Bitcoin ending 2025 "virtually flat" after strong gains and multiple all-time highs throughout the year.
What Happened
Fidelity's research team identified three categories of Bitcoin treasury companies: Native (18 firms), Strategic (12 firms), and Traditional (19 firms).
Strategic companies, which adopted Bitcoin-focused treasury strategies specifically to accumulate the asset, hold an average of 12,346 BTC each.
This significantly exceeds Native companies at 7,935 BTC average and Traditional firms at 4,326 BTC average.
"Strategic companies are likely to continue building bitcoin reserves, while more Traditional companies will make the leap into bitcoin," the report stated.
The findings indicate traditional corporations outside the crypto ecosystem are increasingly allocating treasury funds to Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
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Why It Matters
Fidelity researchers predict 2026 will be "the year token holder rights go mainstream" as protocols increasingly implement revenue-sharing mechanisms like buybacks.
Hyperliquid and Pump.fun have already directed 93% and $208 million respectively of trading revenue toward token buybacks over the past year.
The report also highlights potential shifts in Bitcoin mining economics as competition for energy infrastructure intensifies from artificial intelligence data centers.
Amazon Web Services signed a 15-year, $5.5 billion lease with Cipher Mining, while Iren Limited announced a $9.7 billion cloud services contract with Microsoft.
"In 2026, we could see hash rate flattening as major miners halt expansion and possibly scale back operations in favor of more profitable AI hosting revenue," according to Fidelity analyst Zack Wainwright.
Bitcoin's correlation with global M2 money supply growth suggests potential upside if monetary easing accelerates in 2026, though macro headwinds including sticky inflation and geopolitical tensions remain significant risks.
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