These factors drove Bitcoin’s realized cap to a record high of $730 million by 2024 (CryptoQuant)

Bitcoin (BTC) has seen remarkable growth this year, as seen in its realized capitalization, which grew from $430 billion in January to a new high of $730 billion. The cryptocurrency recently had a historic moment when it crossed the $100,000 mark, the first time it was worth six figures.

Analysts at blockchain intelligence platform CryptoQuant revealed in a weekly report that this growth has been driven by the wider adoption of Bitcoin among institutions and corporations, especially after the launch of exchange-traded funds of Bitcoin (ETF) in the United States and improving regulatory clarity.

Institutional adoption drives BTC growth

According to CryptoQuant, the increase in Bitcoin’s realized cap reflects a significant influx of investment and growing confidence in the cryptocurrency as a reliable investment asset. Bitcoin is becoming more and more integrated into traditional financial systems, and this development is paving the way for more liquidity to move into the ecosystem.

The launch of Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January created a regulated and accessible avenue for institutional and retail investors to gain exposure to BTC without the hassle of directly owning the asset. These products now own over a million BTC with billions of dollars in trading volume.

“In fact, the rise in the price of Bitcoin this year has been driven by buying by large investors. On-chain data reveals that large Bitcoin investors increased their holdings by a net 275,000 bitcoins so far in 2024, reaching a record high of 16.4 million Bitcoin,” CryptoQuant stated.

Bitcoin’s utility expands

In addition to US-based Bitcoin ETFs, institutions such as business intelligence firm MicroStrategy have significantly increased their BTC holdings since the beginning of the year. MicroStrategy held 189,000 BTC in January, but the company’s latest announcements reveal that holdings have increased to 402,100.

Other US-based companies such as healthcare technology provider Semler Scientific have also adopted BTC as a strategic reserve asset, leading to their continued accumulation of the cryptocurrency.

As corporations continue to buy BTC, crypto exchanges are seeing notable spikes in their average holdings of BTC and Tether (USDT). Average bitcoin deposits across all exchanges increased from 0.36 BTC last year to 1.65 BTC currently, while USDT deposits grew from $19,600 to $230,000.

Meanwhile, new use cases on the Bitcoin network, such as the Runes protocol, have expanded the former’s utility beyond being a store of value, allowing tokens to be minted directly on the blockchain.

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