# Institutional Bitcoin Adoption: Treasuries, Insurance, Banks, Trusts and Public Investment Managers

*Institutional adoption was not one trade and cannot be measured by one holdings total. A corporation can own bitcoin on its balance sheet; an insurer can place it in a general investment account; a trust can hold it for shareholders; a bank can safeguard keys for clients; and a public investment manager can own trust shares without possessing bitcoin directly. The distinctions are the history.*

- Research question: How did Bitcoin move from a specialist investment trust into corporate treasuries, an insurer’s general account, regulated bank custody and public-institution portfolios—and who actually owned the bitcoin in each model?
- Canonical: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/
- Published 2026-08-09 · last reviewed 2026-08-09 · covers 2013-09-25/2025-07-14
- Author: Degrees of Satoshi editorial project (https://degreesofsatoshi.com/authors/degrees-of-satoshi-editorial-project/)
- Citation files: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/citation.bib · https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/citation.ris · https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/citation.csl.json
- Evidence data: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/evidence.json

## Key finding

The institutional breakthrough was a stack of legal and operational wrappers rather than a single wave of direct coin ownership. By the end of 2024, Block reported 8,485 corporate-investment BTC and Tesla reported 11,509 BTC, while BNY provided custody for clients and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board reported Bitcoin-trust shares rather than direct bitcoin. Institutional maturation made Bitcoin legible to treasury, accounting, custody and fiduciary systems without making those exposures economically identical. ([Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))

## Verified record

| Date | Record | Verified detail | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 25 September 2013 | Grayscale trust operations begin | The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s 2020 Form 10-K states that the Delaware statutory trust commenced operations on this date to hold bitcoin and issue beneficial-interest shares. | [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm) |
| 19 November 2019 | GBTC files Form 10 | The trust filed to register its shares under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, establishing a public-company reporting path before U.S. spot Bitcoin ETP approval. | [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Form 10 registration statement](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000119312519295206/d735049d1012g.htm) |
| 22 July 2020 | OCC recognizes bank custody authority | Interpretive Letter 1170 concluded that national banks may provide cryptocurrency custody for customers, including holding the associated cryptographic keys. | [Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf) |
| October 2020 | Square’s first corporate allocation | Square purchased $50 million of bitcoin; its subsequent annual filing described a second $170 million purchase in February 2021. | [Square 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm) |
| 10 December 2020 | MassMutual general-account investment | MassMutual purchased $100 million of bitcoin for its general investment account and a $5 million minority equity stake in NYDIG; NYDIG said it facilitated and custodied the bitcoin purchase. | [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html) |
| 31 December 2020 | GBTC year-end trust position | The trust held 607,039.48515191 BTC with principal-market fair value of $17,716,477,727; the custodian held the bitcoin on behalf of the trust. | [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm) |
| February 2021 | Square adds to its treasury | Square purchased an additional $170 million of bitcoin after its $50 million October 2020 purchase. | [Square 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm) |
| 2021 fiscal year | Tesla enters corporate treasury record | Tesla purchased $1.50 billion of bitcoin, sold a portion during 2021 and reported $1.26 billion carrying value and $1.99 billion fair market value at year-end. | [Tesla 2021 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000095017022000796/tsla-20211231.htm) |
| 20 July 2022 | Tesla reports a major conversion to cash | Tesla’s filed quarterly update said it had converted approximately 75% of its bitcoin purchases into fiat currency, adding $936 million of cash in the second quarter. | [Tesla second-quarter 2022 filed update](https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000156459022026048/tsla-8k_20220720-gen.pdf) |
| October 2022 | BNY launches digital-asset custody | BNY’s annual report says its platform went live for select U.S. institutional clients and describes BNY as the first global systemically important bank to do so. | [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf) |
| 13 December 2023 | FASB issues crypto fair-value standard | ASU 2023-08 requires in-scope crypto assets to be measured at fair value each reporting period with changes recognized in net income and enhanced holdings disclosures. | [FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets](https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23) |
| 31 March 2024 | SWIB’s first disclosed Bitcoin-trust positions | SWIB reported 2,450,400 IBIT shares valued at $99,167,688 and 1,013,000 GBTC shares valued at $63,687,310 in its Form 13F information table. | [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml) |
| 31 December 2024 | Block reports its corporate BTC | Block reported approximately 8,485 investment BTC with $251.5 million cost basis and $792.282 million fair value. | [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm) |
| 31 December 2024 | Tesla reports its corporate BTC | Tesla reported 11,509 BTC with $386 million cost basis and $1.074 billion fair value. | [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm) |
| 23 January 2025 | SEC staff rescinds SAB 121 | Staff Accounting Bulletin 122 rescinded the staff guidance that had addressed balance-sheet recognition for obligations to safeguard users’ crypto assets, effective 30 January 2025. | [SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 122](https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidance/staff-accounting-bulletins/staff-accounting-bulletin-122) |
| 7 March 2025 | OCC rescinds the non-objection process | The OCC rescinded its prior supervisory non-objection process while preserving national banks’ cryptocurrency-custody authority and safe-and-sound expectations. | [OCC Bulletin 2025-2 and Interpretive Letter 1183](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-2.html) |
| 7 May 2025 | OCC clarifies custody services | Interpretive Letter 1184 confirmed customer-directed execution and permitted use of sub-custodians subject to third-party risk controls. | [Interpretive Letter 1184: custody and execution services](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2025/int1184.pdf) |
| 14 July 2025 | Agencies publish safekeeping considerations | The Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC jointly described crypto-asset safekeeping risk-management considerations for banking organizations. | [Interagency statement on crypto-asset safekeeping](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-17.html) |

## One network supported five very different institutional claims {#one-network-five-institutional-claims}

The phrase ‘institutions own bitcoin’ conceals more than it reveals. A corporation that purchases bitcoin with treasury cash records an asset belonging to the corporation; its common shareholders do not receive a proportional output on the Bitcoin blockchain. An insurance company’s general account holds assets against a broad set of policyholder obligations and capital requirements. A statutory trust owns portfolio bitcoin under a trust agreement while investors own shares. A bank custodian may control signing infrastructure for customer assets without owning those assets economically. A public investment manager can hold shares in such a trust without holding private keys or reporting any direct bitcoin at all.

Those structures nonetheless form a coherent historical transition. They translated a bearer-like digital asset into the languages of investment policy, financial reporting, custody controls, brokerage settlement and fiduciary oversight. That translation widened the set of institutions able to obtain exposure and made audited comparison possible. It also added intermediaries and legal claims that do not exist in self-custody. Institutional maturation should therefore be measured by the diversity and quality of these rails—not by adding every disclosed dollar, share and custodied coin into a fictitious universal balance.

Sources: [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html); [Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml)

## A specialist trust built the first durable securities bridge {#trust-before-spot-etps}

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust commenced operations on 25 September 2013, years before listed U.S. spot Bitcoin ETPs. Its structure was explicit: the Delaware statutory trust held bitcoin, issued fractional beneficial-interest shares and employed separate sponsor, trustee, transfer-agent and custodian roles. Shares later traded on OTCQX. Grayscale administered the vehicle, but the trust’s filing said the custodian held bitcoin on behalf of the trust. Calling those coins ‘Grayscale’s corporate bitcoin’ would erase the legal vehicle and misstate who bore the exposure.

The trust filed a Form 10 registration statement in November 2019. By 31 December 2020, it reported 607,039.48515191 BTC with principal-market fair value of $17.716477727 billion, up from 261,192.14022299 BTC one year earlier. Scale did not make the wrapper frictionless: the 2020 filing said the sponsor was not operating a redemption program, and secondary-market shares could trade at a premium or discount to the bitcoin represented by each share. This pre-ETF chapter demonstrated institutional demand while also showing why wrapper design, fees, redemption rights and custody were economically material.

Sources: [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Form 10 registration statement](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000119312519295206/d735049d1012g.htm); [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm)

## Corporate treasuries and an insurer’s general account crossed the line in 2020 {#treasuries-and-insurance-general-account}

Square, now Block, purchased $50 million of bitcoin in October 2020 and another $170 million in February 2021. Its filing connected the investment to the company’s stated purpose of economic empowerment while saying it would continue to reassess bitcoin relative to the balance sheet. The first purchase was a conventional use of corporate cash rather than the leveraged capital-markets system later associated with Strategy. That made Square an important independent proof point: a public operating company could approve, account for and custody a finite treasury allocation while continuing to run its primary business.

MassMutual extended the experiment into a more conservative fiduciary setting. A 10 December 2020 announcement from NYDIG, containing a statement from MassMutual’s chief investment officer, records a $100 million bitcoin purchase for the insurer’s general investment account plus a separate $5 million equity investment in NYDIG. NYDIG said the bitcoin was held on its secure, audited and insured custody platform. A general account is not a wallet divided among policyowners; it is part of the insurer’s asset pool supporting contractual obligations. The significance was that Bitcoin entered an insurance investment process with long-duration liabilities, governance and custody requirements.

Sources: [Square 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html)

## Tesla amplified the treasury signal—and then tested liquidity {#tesla-normalizes-and-tests-liquidity}

Tesla’s 2021 annual filing records a $1.50 billion bitcoin purchase under an investment policy approved by the board’s Audit Committee. It also briefly accepted bitcoin as payment in specified regions, sold part of the position during the year and reported a $1.26 billion carrying value against a $1.99 billion year-end fair market value. Tesla brought the treasury decision into mainstream corporate and consumer attention because the purchaser was a large operating company whose product, cash and manufacturing decisions were followed globally.

The next chapter was equally instructive. Tesla’s filed July 2022 quarterly update said it had converted approximately 75% of its bitcoin purchases into fiat currency, adding $936 million of cash in the quarter. Institutional adoption did not create a one-way holding rule; management retained the authority to meet liquidity priorities. Tesla still reported 11,509 BTC at 31 December 2024, with $386 million cost basis and $1.074 billion fair value. Together, the purchase, sale and retained position show both strategic optionality and the governance risk borne by investors who do not control the coins themselves.

Sources: [Tesla 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459021004599/tsla-10k_20201231.htm); [Tesla 2021 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000095017022000796/tsla-20211231.htm); [Tesla second-quarter 2022 filed update](https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000156459022026048/tsla-8k_20220720-gen.pdf); [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm)

## Banks turned private-key control into a supervised custody service {#banks-build-custody-rail}

Custody was a separate adoption track. In July 2020, OCC Interpretive Letter 1170 concluded that national banks may provide cryptocurrency custody services for customers, including holding the cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency. The letter treated key custody as a modern form of traditional safekeeping, subject to risk management and applicable law. A later 2021 letter required supervisory non-objection before certain activities; the OCC rescinded that extra process in March 2025 while reaffirming the underlying authority. In May 2025 it further confirmed that banks may execute customer-directed purchases and sales of assets held in custody and may use qualified sub-custodians with appropriate third-party controls.

BNY supplied an operating milestone between those regulatory points. Its 2022 annual report says the bank launched a Digital Asset Custody platform for select U.S. institutional clients in October and characterized itself as the first global systemically important bank to do so. The claim concerns a service, not a BNY proprietary bitcoin allocation. Client assets, custody keys, bank capital and corporate investments must remain separate in any holdings analysis. The July 2025 interagency safekeeping statement preserved the same basic bargain: established banking organizations could provide the service, but cybersecurity, key management, legal, compliance, sub-custody and contingency risks still required a safe-and-sound control framework.

Sources: [Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [OCC Bulletin 2025-2 and Interpretive Letter 1183](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-2.html); [Interpretive Letter 1184: custody and execution services](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2025/int1184.pdf); [Interagency statement on crypto-asset safekeeping](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-17.html)

## Fair-value accounting made corporate holdings easier to read {#accounting-becomes-decision-useful}

Before the new crypto standard, many U.S. companies treated bitcoin as an indefinite-lived intangible asset: decreases below carrying value could trigger impairment, while later market-price recoveries generally remained unrecognized until sale. This asymmetry made a treasury’s current economics difficult to read from the face of the financial statements. On 13 December 2023, FASB issued ASU 2023-08 for qualifying crypto assets. It requires fair-value measurement each reporting period, changes through net income, separate presentation and expanded disclosures including significant holdings, restrictions and activity.

Block and Tesla early-adopted the standard in their 2024 reporting, producing the exact quantity, cost-basis and fair-value disclosures used here. Block reported approximately 8,485 investment BTC at $792.282 million fair value; Tesla reported 11,509 BTC at $1.074 billion fair value. Better accounting does not stabilize the asset or turn unrealized appreciation into cash. It makes the volatility more legible and symmetrical. That is a genuine institutional advance: boards, auditors and investors can see period-end economics without pretending that a quoted market value is guaranteed sale proceeds.

Sources: [FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets](https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm)

## A public investment manager entered through securities, not private keys {#public-manager-exposure}

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board manages the Wisconsin Retirement System and other state trust funds. Its Form 13F for 31 March 2024 reported 2,450,400 shares of IBIT valued at $99,167,688 and 1,013,000 shares of GBTC valued at $63,687,310. The filing is notable because it placed Bitcoin-linked securities in the disclosed portfolio of a public investment manager responsible for pension assets. It did not report direct bitcoin, a wallet, or a private key, and it did not identify which specific SWIB-managed fund owned either line item.

Quarterly filings show that the exposure was actively managed. The reported aggregate value of Bitcoin-trust shares was $162,854,998 at 31 March, $98,939,461 at 30 June, $104,388,639 at 30 September and $321,501,621 at 31 December 2024. Those values are not net flows: market prices changed, GBTC disappeared from later snapshots, and IBIT share counts changed. The strongest historical conclusion is therefore narrow but meaningful. Public-sector fiduciary machinery could evaluate, purchase, report and resize a Bitcoin-linked security using the same disclosure system applied to other U.S.-listed holdings.

Sources: [State of Wisconsin Investment Board agency description](https://www.swib.state.wi.us/about/public-records/); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 30 June 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324015020/form13fInfoTable.xml); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 30 September 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324019058/form13fInfoTable.xml); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 December 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299325002462/form13fInfoTable.xml)

## Institutional maturation expanded choice without erasing risk {#maturation-without-convergence}

By 2025, Bitcoin exposure could sit in a corporate treasury, insurance general account, private or public trust, brokerage account, bank custody system or public-manager securities portfolio. Accounting and bank guidance had become more explicit, and service providers had accumulated operating experience. This progression was positive for market depth and institutional credibility because it replaced ad hoc arrangements with named legal entities, audited statements, segregated roles and reviewable controls. It also preserved direct ownership as a distinct alternative rather than making one wrapper canonical.

The residual risks differ by route. Corporate holders face price, governance, tax and liquidity decisions; insurers must integrate volatility with policyholder obligations and capital standards; trust shareholders face fees, tracking and redemption design; custodians face key loss, cyberattack, sub-custodian and insolvency questions; public managers face mandate, political and fiduciary scrutiny. None of those risks proves that adoption failed. Their explicit management is what makes the institutional phase historically different from early informal exposure—and why an authority-grade record must state exactly which entity owned which claim at which date.

Sources: [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets](https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml); [Interagency statement on crypto-asset safekeeping](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-17.html)

## Institutional Bitcoin exposure is an ownership map, not one holdings total

Selected primary-source snapshots separate the asset holder, the security owner and the custodian. Quantities and values are reproduced only where the reporting entity disclosed them.

| Institution and date | Category | Verified exposure | Who owned the claim | Custody or service boundary | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust · 2020-12-31 | Asset-manager-sponsored statutory trust | 607,039.48515191 BTC; $17,716,477,727 principal-market fair value | The trust held bitcoin; shareholders held beneficial-interest shares | Coinbase Custody held bitcoin on behalf of the trust; Grayscale was sponsor | adoption-gbtc-2020-10k |
| Square / Block · 2024-12-31 | Corporate treasury | 8,485 investment BTC; $251.5m cost basis; $792.282m fair value | Block owned the corporate investment; Block shareholders did not own specific coins | Customer bitcoin and corporate-investment bitcoin were separately disclosed | adoption-block-2024-10k |
| MassMutual · 2020-12-10 | Insurance general investment account | $100m bitcoin purchase; BTC quantity not disclosed | MassMutual’s general account held the investment, supporting the insurer’s enterprise obligations | NYDIG said it facilitated the transaction and held the position on its custody platform | adoption-massmutual-nydig |
| Tesla · 2024-12-31 | Corporate treasury | 11,509 BTC; $386m cost basis; $1.074bn fair value | Tesla owned the bitcoin; common stockholders held an equity claim on Tesla | The filing reports the corporate asset, not customer custody | adoption-tesla-2024-10k |
| BNY · October 2022 | Bank custody service | Platform live for select U.S. institutional clients; no proprietary BTC quantity disclosed | Clients or their investment vehicles retained the economic claim | BNY provided safekeeping infrastructure and related custody operations | adoption-bny-2022-annual |
| SWIB · 2024-03-31 | Public investment manager’s securities exposure | 2,450,400 IBIT shares worth $99,167,688; 1,013,000 GBTC shares worth $63,687,310 | SWIB reported trust shares, not direct bitcoin; the specific managed fund was not identified | Each trust, not SWIB, held the portfolio bitcoin through its custody arrangement | adoption-swib-2024-q1 |

## Claims and their limits

- Grayscale Bitcoin Trust commenced operations in September 2013 and reported 607,039.48515191 BTC at 31 December 2020, held by its custodian on behalf of the trust. ([Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm))
- Square purchased $50 million of bitcoin in October 2020 and another $170 million in February 2021; Block later reported 8,485 investment BTC at 31 December 2024. ([Square 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm))
- MassMutual purchased $100 million of bitcoin for its general investment account and separately invested $5 million in NYDIG in December 2020. ([NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html))
- Tesla purchased $1.50 billion of bitcoin under a board Audit Committee-approved investment policy in 2021, converted approximately 75% of its purchases to fiat by the end of the second quarter of 2022, and reported 11,509 BTC at 31 December 2024. ([Tesla 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459021004599/tsla-10k_20201231.htm); [Tesla 2021 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000095017022000796/tsla-20211231.htm); [Tesla second-quarter 2022 filed update](https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000156459022026048/tsla-8k_20220720-gen.pdf); [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm))
- BNY’s Digital Asset Custody platform went live for select U.S. institutional clients in October 2022; this was a client-custody service rather than a disclosed BNY treasury purchase. ([BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf))
- SWIB’s 31 March 2024 Form 13F reported IBIT and GBTC shares with a combined reporting value of $162,854,998, not a direct bitcoin balance. ([SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))
- FASB ASU 2023-08 introduced fair-value measurement through net income and enhanced disclosures for qualifying crypto assets. ([FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets](https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23))
- The institutional-adoption milestone was the formation of several governed access and custody models, not convergence on one form of ownership. ([Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))

## Caveats

- This is a selected chronology of source-verifiable milestones, not a census of corporate, insurance, bank, trust, endowment or pension exposure.
- Corporate bitcoin belongs to the corporation. Owning its common stock does not give a shareholder private keys or a redeemable pro-rata claim on specific coins.
- An insurer’s general investment account supports enterprise and policyholder obligations; it is not a segregated bitcoin wallet owned directly by policyowners.
- Bitcoin held by an investment trust belongs to that legal vehicle. The sponsor manages the product and the custodian safeguards assets, but neither role should automatically be counted as proprietary bitcoin ownership.
- Custody balances are client assets or client claims, not bank treasury holdings. Combining custodied BTC with corporate or trust BTC can double count the same underlying asset.
- Form 13F reports certain securities positions at quarter end. It does not report private keys, direct bitcoin, complete intraperiod trading, acquisition cost or the specific SWIB-managed fund behind each line item.
- A change in dollar fair value can result from bitcoin price movement without any purchase or sale. A change in trust-share value can also reflect price, fees, creations, redemptions and share-count changes.
- Fair-value accounting improves measurement but can make reported earnings more volatile. An unrealized fair-value gain is not operating cash and does not eliminate custody, tax, liquidity or governance risk.

## Questions this dossier answers

### Which institutions in this history owned bitcoin directly?

Block and Tesla reported bitcoin as corporate assets, MassMutual announced bitcoin in its general investment account, and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust itself held bitcoin for the benefit of its shareholders. BNY’s custody launch concerned client assets, while the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s Form 13F reported shares of Bitcoin trusts rather than a direct bitcoin balance. ([Block 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm); [Tesla 2024 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html); [Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))

### Did the Wisconsin Retirement System directly own bitcoin in 2024?

The public record does not establish that. SWIB’s Form 13F reported IBIT and GBTC shares, not bitcoin, and did not identify which of the several funds managed by SWIB held each position. It is accurate to call this public-investment-manager exposure to Bitcoin trust shares, but not to assign the position specifically to a WRS trust or convert it into a direct BTC balance. ([State of Wisconsin Investment Board agency description](https://www.swib.state.wi.us/about/public-records/); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))

### Does bank Bitcoin custody mean the bank owns its clients’ bitcoin?

No. In a custody arrangement, the customer or customer vehicle has the economic interest while the custodian safeguards cryptographic keys and performs agreed services. A bank’s client-custody balance should not be counted as the bank’s proprietary Bitcoin treasury unless the bank separately discloses such an asset. ([Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf); [BNY Mellon 2022 annual report](https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf); [Interagency statement on crypto-asset safekeeping](https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-17.html))

### Why did institutional adoption matter if Bitcoin itself did not change?

It created governed paths through systems that corporations and fiduciaries already use: board-approved treasury policies, audited financial statements, insurance general accounts, statutory trusts, qualified custody, brokerage securities and public-manager reporting. Those paths expanded access and professionalized operations, while leaving Bitcoin’s consensus rules and direct self-custody option unchanged. ([Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm); [Square 2020 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm); [NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html); [Tesla 2021 Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000095017022000796/tsla-20211231.htm); [Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority](https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf); [FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets](https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23); [SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml))

## Sources

1. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Form 10 registration statement, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000119312519295206/d735049d1012g.htm
2. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust 2020 Form 10-K, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1588489/000156459021011121/gbtc-10k_20201231.htm
3. Interpretive Letter 1170: cryptocurrency custody authority, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2020/int1170.pdf
4. Square 2020 Form 10-K, Square, Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000151267321000008/sq-20201231.htm
5. NYDIG announces MassMutual investment and bitcoin purchase, NYDIG / PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-bitcoin-provider-nydig-announces-minority-stake-purchase-by-massmutual-301190811.html
6. Tesla 2020 Form 10-K, Tesla, Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459021004599/tsla-10k_20201231.htm
7. Tesla 2021 Form 10-K, Tesla, Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000095017022000796/tsla-20211231.htm
8. Tesla second-quarter 2022 filed update, Tesla, Inc. / SEC EDGAR. https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000156459022026048/tsla-8k_20220720-gen.pdf
9. BNY Mellon 2022 annual report, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/documents/pdf/investor-relations/annual-report-2022.pdf.coredownload.pdf
10. FASB issues ASU 2023-08 for crypto assets, Financial Accounting Standards Board. https://fasb.org/page/getarticle?isPrintView=true&uid=fasb_Media_Advisory_11-27-23
11. State of Wisconsin Investment Board agency description, State of Wisconsin Investment Board. https://www.swib.state.wi.us/about/public-records/
12. SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 March 2024, State of Wisconsin Investment Board / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324010116/form13fInfoTable.xml
13. SWIB Form 13F information table for 30 June 2024, State of Wisconsin Investment Board / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324015020/form13fInfoTable.xml
14. SWIB Form 13F information table for 30 September 2024, State of Wisconsin Investment Board / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299324019058/form13fInfoTable.xml
15. SWIB Form 13F information table for 31 December 2024, State of Wisconsin Investment Board / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/854157/000106299325002462/form13fInfoTable.xml
16. Block 2024 Form 10-K, Block, Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828025007376/sq-20241231.htm
17. Tesla 2024 Form 10-K, Tesla, Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231.htm
18. SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 122, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidance/staff-accounting-bulletins/staff-accounting-bulletin-122
19. OCC Bulletin 2025-2 and Interpretive Letter 1183, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-2.html
20. Interpretive Letter 1184: custody and execution services, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2025/int1184.pdf
21. Interagency statement on crypto-asset safekeeping, Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2025/bulletin-2025-17.html

## Cite

Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Institutional Bitcoin Adoption: Treasuries, Insurance, Banks, Trusts and Public Investment Managers.” Degrees of Satoshi, published 2026-08-09; last reviewed 2026-08-09. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/

- HTML: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/
- Markdown: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/history/institutional-bitcoin-adoption/index.md
- Guide for agents: https://degreesofsatoshi.com/llms.txt