Bitcoin (BTC) may have made upward of 100,000 U.S. dollar millionaires as it enters its 16th year.
Data shows that the number of wallets containing BTC worth at least $1 million is up nearly 300% since the start of 2023.
Bitcoin millionaire wallets close in on record high
Bitcoin is now the ninth most valuable asset in the world as it celebrates its 15th birthday. Fifteen years to the day that the genesis block was mined, Bitcoin has a market cap of around $900 billion.
The past year has marked a renaissance for Bitcoin hodlers, with BTC emerging from the pit of its longest-ever bear market to gain 160% in U.S. dollar terms.
Now, according to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, Bitcoin “millionaires” number more than 91,000. Measured as unique addresses with a balance of at least $1 million, the tally — while not yet at all-time highs seen in November 2021 — is still nearly four times higher than on Jan. 3, 2023.
“Let us not forget that #Bitcoin is the 9th most valuable asset in the world. In less than 15 years, it surpassed 7,963 other assets to accomplish this,” author Oliver Velez commented on Bitcoin’s metamorphosis.
“By the end of 2025, I suspect it to be in the top three. We shall see.”
Survey: Bitcoin millionaires seek peace of mind
The numbers have clear implications for existing Bitcoiners and were not lost on the industry’s household names.
Related: Bitcoin miners reduce BTC holdings as ‘miner price’ nears $65K
Even today, bitcoinaires are ten times more scarce than millionaires. It’s just the world doesn’t think about this yet. https://t.co/OfduhI53x2
— Tuur Demeester (@TuurDemeester) January 2, 2024
Given its fixed, immutable supply of 21 million units — several million of which are considered irretrievably lost — Bitcoin faces a supply squeeze in the making should more of the world’s roughly 60,000,000 dollar millionaires decide to increase exposure.
According to a survey from investment migration consultancy firm Henley & Partners from September 2023, there could be another 40,500 people whose million-dollar wealth is held in BTC.
“We have seen a significant spike in enquiries from crypto millionaires over the past six months, who are all looking to build a viable ‘Plan B’ to protect themselves against any potential future bans on the trading or use of cryptocurrencies in their countries, and to allay the risks of aggressive fiscal policies that tax digital assets at source,” Henley & Partners CEO Juerg Steffen told private banking news service WealthBriefing at the time.
Henley added that as of September, there appeared to be just six Bitcoin billionaires.
Meanwhile, “wholecoiners” — those unique addresses containing at least 1 BTC — now number more than 1 million for the first time, Glassnode shows.
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.