Bitcoin financial services firm River said its business clients are reinvesting an average of 22% of profits into Bitcoin, signaling growing grassroots adoption.
Of River’s client base, real estate firms have been the biggest adopters with nearly 15% reinvesting profits into Bitcoin (BTC), while hospitality, finance and software sectors are allocating between 8% and 10%, River research analyst Sam Baker said in a report on Wednesday.
Even fitness studios, painting and roofing companies and religious nonprofits are among the adopters.
Baker said businesses like these have quietly acquired 84,000 Bitcoin in 2025 — a sizable stash representing about a quarter of the holdings of institutional fund managers and corporate Bitcoin treasuries have accumulated.
“While Bitcoin treasury companies have captured most of the media spotlight, what is often overlooked is adoption by conventional businesses that use Bitcoin to complement their existing business models,” he added.
Baker said improvements in Bitcoin’s accounting standards, regulatory clarity, increasing institutional acceptance and a strong bull market have created the “ideal conditions for the widespread adoption we are witnessing today.”
Business and institutional Bitcoin adoption has been one of the biggest catalysts behind Bitcoin’s bull run to $124,450 this cycle.
There have been periods where spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund issuers have scooped up 10 times more Bitcoin than what miners were able to produce, pushing up Bitcoin’s price.
It contrasts significantly with the 2020-2021 bull cycle, where businesses largely sat on the sidelines as Bitcoin topped $69,000 mostly on retail hype.
Smaller businesses have an easier path to Bitcoin adoption
Baker noted that 75% of the businesses it serves have 50 employees or fewer, arguing that the small companies will have an easier time adopting Bitcoin as fewer hurdles are involved.
On the other hand, larger companies with committee-based decision-making are more inclined to follow norms and avoid controversy, Baker said, explaining why so few S&P 500 companies hold Bitcoin.
“Even if a CEO or CFO is personally convinced of Bitcoin’s long-term value, they are unlikely to advocate for adoption unless peer companies have already done so.”
Many are only investing modest amounts into Bitcoin
However, River found that over 40% of the businesses allocate between 1% to 10% into Bitcoin, while only 10% invest more than half of their net income into the cryptocurrency.
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For smaller companies, Bitcoin buys can be quite small — less than $10,000. Last week, Rhode Island-based Western Main Self Storage added just 0.088 Bitcoin, worth $9,830, in a single purchase, bringing its total holdings to 0.43 Bitcoin.
Despite the increased adoption, Baker said most businesses aren’t even considering Bitcoin due to “widespread misunderstandings and limited awareness.”
He pointed to a Cornell University survey where only 6% of Americans were aware that Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, while another survey found 60% of Americans admitted they “don’t know much” about the cryptocurrency.
“In other words, Bitcoin is often dismissed not because it has been evaluated and rejected, but because most decision-makers don’t have the understanding to evaluate it in the first place.”
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Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea