Bitcoin Ownership Overtakes Gold in America, But Not Value

Bitcoin ownership in the US has overtaken gold. River Financial's July research found that 49.6 million American adults, or 18.6% of the population, now hold bitcoin, compared with 28.8 million, or 10.8%, who hold gold. That's a gap of nearly 21 million people, and it points to something broader than a rotation in retail taste.

The numbers behind the shift

Bitcoin ownership among Americans climbed from 14.3% to 18.6% in a little over six months, according to River's data. For an asset still known for volatility, that pace of adoption stands out. Americans collectively hold roughly 42% of the global bitcoin supply, and US-listed public companies account for 92.7% of all bitcoin held by publicly traded firms worldwide, a combined 1.24 million BTC. The US government's own holding, 328,372 BTC acquired mostly through asset seizures, is worth more than $26 billion at current prices.

That stockpile has become a reference point for reserve legislation. The American Reserve Modernization Act, introduced in Congress in May, would direct the Treasury to study accumulating bitcoin using budget-neutral methods. Earlier coverage described the bill as targeting up to 1 million BTC over five years, but the introduced bill text dropped that specific number in favor of a study, so the 1 million figure should be read as an earlier proposal rather than the bill's current target.