Going Full Bitcoiner: 1 Million Addresses Now Own 1 BTC or More

Last year’s Bitcoin price plunge drove greater ownership of more than 1 BTC — now reaching one million addresses

article-image

Igor Faun/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Bitcoin hit a wild high of $69,000 in November 2021. And despite a healthy rally in this year’s first quarter, it’s still down nearly two-thirds from its price record.

The good news? This price drop made it easier for folks to jump on the bitcoin bandwagon or continue stacking sats.

One million addresses now hold more than 1 BTC ($26,800), according to data from Glassnode.

Most recently, the number of addresses with full BTC status picked up considerably at the end of February last year, when bitcoin was halfway through correcting after its record high. 

There’s some inverse correlation with bitcoin price and the number of ‘full bitcoiner’ addreses

Dan Ashmore, head of research at Investoo Group, told Blockworks that holding a full bitcoin is equal to roughly half the median US salary. So, while it’s now easier than it was back in late 2021, it could eventually be out of reach for many once again if high prices return.

“This is what we saw during the relentless bull market during the pandemic — a clear leveling off of the previous trajectory at which the number of addresses containing 1 bitcoin or more was growing,” Ashmore told Blockworks.

“As bitcoin fell in price last year, the previous upward trajectory in the growth of these addresses was resumed. I would not expect this pattern to change going forward.”

It’s worth noting that one bitcoin address doesn’t always represent one person, so this doesn’t necessarily mean one million people own 1 BTC. Certain individuals control multiple bitcoin addresses, while some addresses may belong to institutions or groups of people.

According to Ashmore, the 1 million milestone highlights how deeply Bitcoin has established itself in the mainstream realm in recent years.

Whales (and exchanges) among million full Bitcoin addresses

Despite the Bitcoin network’s inherent decentralization, the distribution of wealth is more concentrated than commonly assumed. 

  • Only 7% of the supply (1.356 million BTC, worth $36.4 billion) is distributed among the nearly 46.5 million addresses with at least some bitcoin — but less than one — per BitInfoCharts
  • The other 93% (18 million BTC, worth $482.7 billion) exists in the one million addresses that now own a full BTC.
  • So, the addresses containing more than 1 BTC represent about 2.1% of all non-zero Bitcoin addresses.

It must be stressed that those stats are somewhat skewed considering how much BTC resides within crypto exchange addresses — which mostly represent aggregate user holdings. 

CoinGlass shows 1.89 million BTC ($50.7 billion) sitting with crypto exchanges, about one in every 10 bitcoin in circulation, led by Binance, Coinbase and Bitfinex.

There’s also the 1.46 million BTC ($39.2 billion) that Glassnode considers “probably lost” forever, equal to 7.5% of all bitcoin in existence right now.

Still, Erik Saberski, vice president of data science at The Tie, pointed out that even distribution across financial systems leads to stability in associated asset classes.

Fewer holders, on the other hand, results in imbalanced buying and selling pressure, causing significant price fluctuations. So, more people holding a full bitcoin could indicate increased price stability, reflecting bitcoin’s maturation.

“Because bitcoin is the flagship asset of the crypto economy, this signal of adoption seems to portend broader growth for the overall digital asset ecosystem,” Saberski told Blockworks.

“With this in mind, a measure for adoption does not necessarily suggest anything about the market in the short term. Indeed, adoption happens on a much slower timescale.”

David Canellis contributed reporting.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability