Banks, countries and ETFs own 15 percent of all Bitcoin

In a new report, asset manager VanEck concludes that banks, countries and ETFs hold 15 percent of all Bitcoin.

US asset manager VanEck has a new report published about Bitcoin, which aims to familiarize investors with the cryptocurrency as an investment.

In the report, the authors state that institutional investors currently own $175 billion in Bitcoin. This includes nation-states, banks, ETF issuers and public and private companies.

With a current Bitcoin market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, this gives the major players a share of about 15 percent of the total amount of Bitcoin in circulation.

For VanEck, this is an argument for investing in the cryptocurrency. The authors write:

"In the early years, Bitcoin was mainly used by a small group of tech enthusiasts. It was difficult and cumbersome to obtain, there were few use cases and few merchants accepted it as a means of payment."

In the past year, then, Bitcoin's acceptance has "increased significantly as [the cryptocurrency] becomes more mainstream." Today, "merchants and businesses are accepting Bitcoin more than ever as a means of payment and the infrastructure" has expanded.

Thanks to the development of user-friendly wallets, exchanges and marketplaces, "the technical barriers that existed in Bitcoin's early years have been removed."

The release of the report comes at a momentous time. On May 1, BTC ETFs from Grayscale, BlackRock, Fidelity and Co. a record outflow. On that day, $564 million flowed out.

JPMorgan is also less bullish than VanEck. The U.S. bank sees tough times ahead for crypto. The reason: there is a lack of "positive catalysts and retail trading momentum" is waning.