Bitcoin : 1 million addresses now hold more than 1 BTC

According to Glassnode, there are now 1 million Bitcoin addresses that hold 1 whole BTC or more.

Bitcoin, created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, continues to win over investors, who are giving it more and more space in their wallets. The number of holders (HODLERS) as well has increased significantly since the creation of this cryptocurrency.

In a sign of growing adoption and interest in cryptocurrencies, blockchain analytics firm Glassnode reports that there are one million Bitcoin addresses that contain 1 whole BTC or more.

Apparently, it seems that the increase in this number is locally related to the decrease in the price of Bitcoin. Throughout 2022, as the price of BTC fell 70% from its November 2021 high, holders seized the opportunity to buy fractional Bitcoins at discounted prices, leading to the 100 million satoshis mark being surpassed.

The largest increases occurred in June, when the Bitcoin price first fell drastically (from $30,000 to $18,000), and again in November, when FTX went bankrupt. More recently, disruptions in the banking sector have reinforced investors’ belief that Bitcoin is a viable alternative to the current banking and financial system. In total, nearly 200,000 new “wholecoiners” have joined the club between February 2022 and today.

Another interesting figure reported by Glassnode concerns the number of irretrievably lost Bitcoins, estimated at more than 3 million BTC, which represents about 20% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Today, those 3 million BTC are equivalent to over 75 billion dollars, or $207 billion when Bitcoin was valued at $69,000 in November 2021.

Although the price of Bitcoin has recently risen, the crypto-market remains highly uncertain. The prices of many altcoins and other cryptocurrencies are still near their lows. Only a more significant rise in the price of Bitcoin in the near future could bring the general public’s attention back to these assets that are considered risky.

In anticipation of Bitcoin’s halving in 2024, it is logical to expect a rise in the price of Bitcoin in the coming months. Some experts, such as Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, even predict a Bitcoin price of $1 million in the future, especially given the current banking crisis in the United States.