Despite the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, only a few addresses account for a significant share of the asset’s total supply. As a result, the holding continues to carry an influence on the Bitcoin price movement.
Data from Coinmetrics.io suggests the Bitcoin supply held by the richest 10% addresses stands at 18,559,085. This figure, according to CoinMarketCap.com, represents a whopping 99% of all the current circulating 18,735,681 Bitcoin supply as of June 15, 2021.
Elsewhere, a few addresses’ dominance of Bitcoin distribution is further exhibited compared to the set maximum supply of the digital currency. The amount held by the ten richest addresses represents 88.37% of the 21 million maximum capped Bitcoin supply.
Bitcoin supply: who controls the largest share of BTC?
The anonymous nature of Bitcoin makes it challenging to determine the exact holders of Bitcoin. Similarly, the few Bitcoin addresses with a significant amount of BTC cannot easily be determined.
For one thing, not all addresses are treated the same. To put it into perspective, an exchange address that holds funds from millions of users is separate from an individual’s address. Plus, one user can control multiple addresses, and one address can hold Bitcoin from multiple users, significantly influencing the distribution of BTC among the rich addresses.
However, based on historical trading activities, it is clear that such addresses belong to high-net-worth individuals and entities. Notably, exchanges and institutions perfectly fit this category of Bitcoin wallets.
Investors keeping Bitcoin in hot exchange wallets
With exchanges ranking in this category, it is an indicator that investors prefer to keep their Bitcoin holdings in hot wallets instead of cold storage despite the apparent risks. Besides exchanges, other large Bitcoin holders are likely to be funds, custodians, and other high net worth individuals.
Notably, the Bitcoin whales still account for a massive influence on the asset’s price movement.
While only a small number of addresses control a vast share of Bitcoin’s supply, their impact on the crypto’s price movement cannot be underestimated.
What’s more, some institutions are holding Bitcoin, waiting for another price rally. For one thing, the Bitcoin bull run in 2021 was mainly linked to institutions investing in the crypto.
With Bitcoin getting more scarce and with Tesla reconsidering accepting Bitcoin payments, projections indicate that the price will soar once all the Bitcoin is mined.
