Bitcoin Up 60% YTD as Institutions Drive $2.5B in BTC

June 16, 2025 - 3 min. read

By Yagyesh Jaiswal

Institutional adoption of Bitcoin is picking up steam in 2025. Bitcoin year-to-date has been up 58.8%, topping stocks and gold. Trump Media and Metaplanet are a couple of the large institutional players investing billions in BTC, indicating additional confidence in it to be held long term.

Bitcoin Beats Gold and S&P 500 in 2025

BTC is the top-performing large asset thus far. It has gained 60% YTD, far surpassing gold’s 46.7% and the S&P 500’s 11.5%. Its performance is evidence of increasingly growing investor confidence in Bitcoin as a hedge against macro uncertainty and inflation.

Bitcoin Ranks #2 in 1-Year Asset Returns
BTC Gains 60%, Gold 46.7%, S&P 11.5%

The asset’s consistent growth is fragmenting away from gold. But Bitcoin’s volatility also attracts traders, so it is a two-way animal, as a reserve asset and a speculative asset.

Bitcoin Spurns Bond Yield Inflation Correlation

Traditionally, the price of Bitcoin has moved in lockstep with U.S. Treasury yields. But 2025 is the year that rhythm was broken. Despite the elevated yields, Bitcoin continued to rise, so there is increasing divergence.

Bitcoin Decouples from Bond Yields

Analysts interpret this decoupling as proof that investors now see Bitcoin stock as a non-correlated store-of-value. The flows into and out of crypto funds were $167 billion in early June, reflecting heightened institutional demand.

Metaplanet Makes Case for 1% of Bitcoin Supply

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet now has at least 10,000 BTC. That is about $680 million at current prices. In order to buy more Bitcoin, it will be issuing $210 million zero-coupon bonds due Dec. 12, 2025, to be used in buying.

Its five-year goal is to hold 210,000 BTC (1% of the total available Bitcoins) by taking part in a $5.4 billion fundraising exercise in 2027. That ranks Metaplanet as one of the most ambitious Asian institutional Bitcoin purchasers.

Trump Media Considers $2.5B Bitcoin Treasury

The U.S. also witnesses Trump Media & Technology Group venturing into Bitcoin. The company received SEC approval to set up a $2.3 billion Bitcoin fund. Anchor investors Jane Street and DRW Investments invested $375 million and $100 million, respectively.

The aggressive overall investment plan will have Trump Media increase its Bitcoin reserves by more than $2.5 billion. It will rank among the largest publicly traded company Bitcoin balances in the nation, a flip from how publicly traded firms have viewed digital assets.

BTC Mining Difficulty Eases Slightly Post-Halving

Bitcoin mining difficulty fell from an all-time peak of 126.9 trillion to 126.4 trillion in June. Suggestively small as the 0.4% fall is, it brings some scant respite for miners. Block rewards fell with April’s halving, butting out small fish.

BTC Mining Difficulty Slides to 126.4T
BTC Difficulty Dips Slightly in June

Major miners like Marathon and CleanSpark are continuing to mine and store Bitcoin nonetheless. Their action is driven by expectations of long-term appreciation in price rather than short-term profit-taking.

Short-Term Adjustment Possible, Bullish in the Long Run

Bitcoin hovers at $103,000 and $102,000 resistance levels. Analysts are looking for potential short-term corrections on the basis of slowing market activity and profit-taking. Long-term buyers, however, continue to buy above the $100,000 level with unflinching confidence.

BTC Holds Strong Above $106K
BTC Trades Near $107K With $2.1T Cap

Bitcoin’s 60% YTD return, coupled with $2.5 billion of fresh institutional capital, heralds an era of adoption. Its detachment from bonds, supremacy over legacy assets, and calculated construction by heavyweights makes it increasingly global store-of-value in the making. Where short-term volatility reigns, long-term trajectory is unmistakable: institutional investment in Bitcoin is here to stay.

Yagyesh Jaiswal

Yagyesh is a crypto geek and a blockchain educator. Started his crypto journey in 2018...

Yagyesh Jaiswal