Bitcoin (BTC) has surpassed a significant milestone this month with over 1 million addresses holding at least 1 BTC, as confirmed by data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, as of May 18.
Back: Adoption trend lays path to “hyperbitcoinization”
The number of “wholecoiners” has been steadily increasing since mid-2021, and the upward trend in 1-BTC wallets has seen near-zero reversal since then, with Glassnode showing the trend accelerating in 2022, starting the year with 814,000 wholecoiners and ending with 978,000, an increase of 20%. Blockstream CEO and co-founder Adam Back suggests that if the trend continues, BTC’s price growth would make it unattainable. 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 wholecoiners would re-sell, probably moving up to their next target for extra bitcoin, most are trying to buy more!”
Existing Bitcoin investors have generally resisted the urge to sell through the recent bear market and subsequent price recovery, while an uptick in short-term holders, or speculators, in 2023 has some enthusiastic about the birth of a new Bitcoin bull market. On the other hand, Glassnode data shows that the number of whale wallets has become stagnant. Entities with between 1,000 BTC and 9,999 BTC are now showing signs of recovery after falling from mid-2022 onwards, while 10,000+ BTC entities remain in a range entered into following the FTX collapse in November 2022, with there currently being 117 such entities. Observers often note that the largest classes of whales still exert the most influence over BTC price action due to their trading activities.
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.
