How much people have invested in crypto?
By the end of 2021, it is estimated that nearly 300 million people worldwide owned some kind of cryptocurrency (crypto.com). Crypto's worldwide market capitalisation was estimated at $US1. 09 trillion as of August 2023 (CoinMarketCap).
Cryptocurrency awareness and ownership rates have increased to record levels: 40% of American adults now own crypto, up from 30% in 2023. This could be as many as 93 million people. Among current crypto owners, around 63% hope to obtain more cryptocurrency over the next year.
The Triple-A study estimates that globally, there are 420 million cryptocurrency owners. The study notes that this represents 4.2% of the worldwide population. However, these figures are skewed in the context of Bitcoin, as they cover all cryptocurrency assets. As such, let's turn to research conducted by Crypto.com.
Today, roughly 1 million wallet addresses have more than 1 bitcoin. Think about that for a moment — only 1 million out of the nearly 8 billion people on Earth own at least one full bitcoin. That works out to be only about 1 in every 8,000 people!
As of March 2023, the top 1% of Bitcoin addresses hold over 90% of the total Bitcoin supply, according to Bitinfocharts.
In reality, only 2.3% of all Bitcoin owners own 1 BTC or more (worth around $35K per Bitcoin as of November 6th, 2023). In addition to Bitcoin ownership primarily spread across multiple small holders, most of Bitcoin's largest holders represent “the many” rather than a few.
So, who are the top holders of BTC? According to the Bitcoin research and analysis firm River Intelligence, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator behind Bitcoin, is listed as the top BTC holder as of 2024. The company notes that Satoshi Nakamoto holds about 1.1m BTC tokens in about 22,000 different addresses.
Key Takeaways. There are 88,200 crypto millionaires worldwide. 40,500 of these millionaires have amassed their fortune in Bitcoin (BTC).
According to their findings, a one in four Americans and 55% of surveyed investors, defined by Unchained as those with at least one investment account between the ages of 18 and 78, own bitcoin.
A survey estimates that there are 88,200 millionaires around the world who have become rich through crypto assets, highlighting how this sector affects the wealth landscape.
How many Americans own crypto?
20% of Americans–which would constitute over 50 million people–own crypto. Despite the tumultuous events of 2022, crypto ownership has remained largely unchanged since early 2022, which has been the historic high water mark for crypto ownership in America. Ownership is higher with people of color and younger Americans.
LemonBG. Just now, according to Glassnode data, the number of addresses holding more than 100 BTC has reached a four-month low, currently standing at 15,955.
The supply of bitcoins is replenished at a set rate of one block every ten minutes. The system design reduces the number of new bitcoins in each block by half every four years. There are only about 2 million bitcoins left. Experts predict that the last bitcoins will be mined by 2140.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of stealing billions of dollars from customers, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday, capping an extraordinary saga that upended the crypto industry and became a cautionary tale of greed and hubris.
Nakamoto owns between 750,000 and 1,100,000 Bitcoin. In November 2021, when Bitcoin reached a value of over $68,000, his net worth would have been up to $73 billion, making him the 15th-richest person in the world at the time.
Prominent figures associated with substantial cryptocurrency wealth include individuals such as Changpeng Zhao (founder of Binance), Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (founders of Gemini), and Chris Larsen (co-founder of Ripple). Their fortunes are tied to successful ventures in the crypto space.
Known for her innovative investment approach, Cathie Wood predicts Bitcoin will surpass $1 million sooner than her previous estimate of 2030.
As a rule of thumb, don't invest more than 10% of your portfolio in risky assets like Bitcoin. NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team.
The decision to buy a small amount of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency depends on individual financial goals, risk tolerance, and beliefs about the cryptocurrency's future. Here are some considerations: Volatility: Bitcoin is known for its price volatility.
Billionaire Elon Musk is a huge fan of cutting-edge technology and is usually ahead of the curve when it comes to finance, but he's not a bitcoin bull. The co-founder of Tesla Inc. revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token.
Who is the boss of Bitcoin?
Introduction to Bitcoin
Bitcoin does not have a CEO or a central banker at its helm and, in fact, is not controlled by any single person or entity. Nonetheless, Bitcoin was created by someone and is governed by a variety of community stakeholders through a system that is referred to as rough consensus.
Nobody owns the Bitcoin network much like no one owns the technology behind email. Bitcoin is controlled by all Bitcoin users around the world. While developers are improving the software, they can't force a change in the Bitcoin protocol because all users are free to choose what software and version they use.
There are 425 million users of all cryptocurrencies worldwide. The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is $1.18 trillion. Out of all 425 million crypto users, just 22 are crypto billionaires. There are 182 crypto centimillionaires.
According to the report, six—or almost one in three—of the world's crypto billionaires reached that status by holding Bitcoin. That means just 0.000003% of those who hold Bitcoin have Bitcoin assets worth more than $1 billion.
Some early adopters of bitcoin who invested in the early days of the cryptocurrency saw significant returns and became wealthy relatively quickly. For example, those who purchased bitcoin for a few dollars in the early 2010s and held onto it saw massive gains as the price of bitcoin skyrocketed in the following years.
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