Bitcoin supply squeeze heats up as Grayscale buys nearly 3x the BTC mined in December

Institutional crypto-investment giant Grayscale now has $ 20 billion under its control as its Bitcoin (BTC) outperforms production by nearly three to one.

As data analytics resource Coin98 Analytics noted on Jan. 1, Grayscale bought almost three times more BTC than what was launched in December 2020.

It’s official: miners can’t produce enough bitcoin

Last month, the company added a total of BTC 72,950 ($ 2.132 billion) to its assets under management (AUM). During the same period, miners earned just 28,112 BTC ($ 821.7 million) – 38.5% of Grayscale’s buy-in.

The numbers underscore what many have described as an ongoing bitcoin liquidity squeeze, with large buyers sucking up and retiring all available supplies and sending them to a cold store for long-term storage.

As Cointelegraph reported, the phenomenon was already visible in November, but in December the demand for grayscale and other institutional units increased significantly.

BTC mined or bought by Grayscale in December 2020. Source: Coin98 Analytics / Twitter

Grayscale now controls $ 20 billion worth of crypto

As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert celebrated the increase in the company’s total AUM across its various crypto funds to over $ 20 billion. A year ago it was only $ 2 billion.

Managed grayscale crypto assets as of December 31, 2020. Source: Grayscale / Twitter

The company remains the largest institutional player in the Bitcoin scene. At $ 17.475 billion BTC, it far surpasses any other market player. Newcomer MicroStrategy, while not an investment firm, now controls BTC 70,470 ($ 2.06 billion).

Analysts assume that a higher demand for the fixed supply of “new” Bitcoins from miners will only serve to trigger a bidding war and increase the price. Sellers faced strong buyer determination back in December when new all-time highs did not produce significant long-lasting pullbacks.

As of Friday going to press, BTC / USD continued to trade above $ 29,000 after hitting a new record high of $ 29,500 overnight.

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