On May 9, Coinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, witnessed a historic event as 9,739 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at over $1 billion, exited the platform in a single day. This marked the highest daily outflow recorded in 2025, according to Andrè Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise. “Institutional appetite for Bitcoin is accelerating,” Dragosch noted in a recent post on X.
The significant outflow coincided with Bitcoin trading above $103,600 and followed the White House’s announcement of a 90-day reduction in reciprocal tariffs between the U.S. and China. This easing of market tensions has been interpreted as a boost to investor sentiment, with Nansen’s principal research analyst, Aurelie Barthere, suggesting that it could facilitate a rally across Bitcoin, altcoins, and the broader stock market.
As institutional demand intensifies, analysts warn that a potential supply shock may be on the horizon. This phenomenon occurs when robust buyer demand intersects with a declining available supply of Bitcoin on exchanges, which could lead to significant price appreciation. Dragosch highlighted that in 2025, corporations have acquired four times more Bitcoin than all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs combined, nearing 200,000 BTC—equivalent to the annual supply of new Bitcoin.
Despite the bullish outlook, Dragosch cautioned that the market might experience short-term corrections due to what he described as overheated investor sentiment. Meanwhile, data from Glassnode indicates that Bitcoin’s illiquid supply has reached an unprecedented 14 million BTC, underscoring the ongoing accumulation by large investors. As institutional interest continues to reshape the Bitcoin landscape, the implications for the market could be profound.
