Bitcoin (BTC) has crossed a significant threshold this month — and while it does not involve price, it does involve “millions.”
Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirms that as of May 18, there are over 1 million addresses that hold at least 1 BTC.
Back: Adoption trend lays path to “hyperbitcoinization”
It was a long time coming and received much attention on social media, and the time is finally here — there are 1 million entities that own a whole Bitcoin.
These “wholecoiners” have been steadily accruing since mid-2021, Glassnode shows, and the upward trend in 1-BTC wallets has seen almost no reversal since.
In 2022, however, the trend accelerated, having started the year with 814,000 wholesalers and finishing it with 978,000 — an increase of 20%.
Reacting, Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Bitcoin firm Blockstream, made a case for “hyperbitcoinization” soon to come.
Should the existing trend continue, he argued, BTC price growth would soon make buying it not only a luxury but something unattainable altogether.
This would happen, he tweeted, “because 10mil people trying to buy 1 BTC over a few years would push the price out of reach.”
“And many current hodlers are not selling,” he continued.
“Eg very few of the recent whole coiners would re-sell, probably moving up to their next target for extra bitcoin, most are trying to buy more!”Bitcoin: Number of addresses with a balance ≥ 1 chart. Source: Glassnode
As Cointelegraph reported, existing Bitcoin investors who are long-term market participants have broadly resisted the urge to sell through the recent bear market and subsequent price recovery.
At the same time, an uptick in short-term holders, or speculators, in 2023 has got some excited about the birth of a new Bitcoin bull market.
Whale numbers halt 2022 decline
Glassnode data, meanwhile, shows that at the other end of the spectrum, whale wallets have become stagnant.
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Entities with between 1,000 BTC and 9,999 BTC are now showing signs of recovery after falling from mid-2022 onward.
10,000+ BTC entities, on the other hand, remain in a range entered following the FTX collapse last November. There are currently 117 such entities.
Bitcoin: Number of addresses with balance ≥ 1K chart. Source: Glassnode
Observers, such as monitoring resource Material Indicators, often note that the largest classes of whales still exert the most influence over BTC price action thanks to their trading activities.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
