The number of addresses does not imply new users, as an individual may have various addresses while several people may use only one. The rising number of Bitcoin HODLers accumulate a significant share of all holders, although they have recently suffered losses.
Although the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has kept dropping for months, its adoption has not slowed. On-chain data indicate that the number of addresses has risen since the peak of the crypto market in November.
The Number of Addresses Does Not Mean There Are More Holders
According to the crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock, around 41.9 million addresses have a balance on the Bitcoin network. That number is just below the all-time high of 42.07 million registered addresses at the beginning of August.
Despite the bearish market, the number of Bitcoin holders has increased to over 42 million addresses, 4.5 million more than in 2021.
However, the number of addresses does not necessarily mean that there are new users. An individual may use various addresses for security reasons, while several people may use only one.
Some wallet providers have multi-address accounts on their systems by default. The wallet generates a new address for the user each time they select receive on their accounts. It aims to increase on-chain privacy by making it harder to associate their payments with their identity.
The ratio of active Bitcoin addresses with balances has been just 2.36% over the last week, 12% lower than in 2013.
After reaching their peak in 2021, daily active addresses have been around 1 million.
The Distribution of Bitcoin
According to IntoTheBlock, retail investors now concentrate 89.6% of the ownership of Bitcoin.
Retail holders are those owning less than 0.1% of the supply, equivalent to 19,000 BTC. That is more than the amount that billionaire businessman and investor Michael Saylor has hoarded.
The data indicate that HODLers, the addresses holding their coins for over one year, are the most common (29.78 million). Cruise Ships keep their holdings between 1 and 12 months (14.85 million), while Merchants do it for one month or less (2.33 million).
The number of HODLers seems to rise steadily and accumulate a significant share of all holders. Meanwhile, Bitcoin price cycles usually allow Merchants to reach highs and lows.
Data from Glassnode indicate that long-term Bitcoin holders have recently suffered losses due to the bearish market. However, they believe its price will eventually recover and bring them significant profits.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 20,096 and has accumulated a 1.0% gain over the last 24 hours. While its trading volume is above USD 29.67 billion, its market capitalization is about 385.23 billion, according to CoinGecko.
The relevance of Bitcoin in the global economic system is increasingly evident, which long-term holders know well. Even though the overall crypto market is amid a bearish trend, they have not stopped buying it. It is a matter of time before seeing how the market influences the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency.
By Alexander Salazar
