According to Glassnode, the number of Bitcoin wallet addresses holding 1 BTC or more has surpassed one million, indicating a growing number of “wholecoiners.” This milestone was achieved on May 13, as reported by Glassnode’s data. As Bitcoin prices experienced a significant decline of over 65% throughout the previous year, there was a notable increase in the number of wallet addresses holding at least one Bitcoin. This trend was particularly prominent during a severe market crash in June and following the collapse of FTX and subsequent bankruptcy filing on November 11. During this period, approximately 190,000 new wholecoiners emerged as Bitcoin’s price declined from its peak in November 2021.
Glassnode cofounder @Negentropic shared his perspective with his Twitter followers, stating that the best time to buy Bitcoin is when there is “blood in the streets.” These comments were made in the context of recent major bank collapses in the United States and the Federal Reserve’s potential decision to pause interest rate hikes in the coming months. Glassnode expressed confidence in Bitcoin’s mid-term outlook, predicting a price target of $35,000 as external pressures subside.
While reaching the round number of one million addresses holding 1 BTC is a significant milestone, it’s important to note that a single Bitcoin wallet address doesn’t always represent an individual user. Many crypto investors possess multiple Bitcoin addresses, and there are institutional addresses belonging to cryptocurrency exchanges and investment firms that hold substantial amounts of Bitcoin.
According to data from CoinGlass, approximately 1.89 million BTC (worth $50.7 billion) are held on major centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase out of the current circulating supply of around 19 million BTC. Furthermore, Glassnode estimates that about 3 million BTC (worth $80.4 billion), accounting for 17% of the total circulating supply, are considered “lost forever.” This figure includes BTC sent to “burn addresses,” wallets with lost keys, and large accounts that have remained inactive for more than a decade.