Bitcoin Addresses Holding Over 0.1 BTC Haven’t Grown in Two Years, What Does This Mean?
Since Bitcoin’s launch, the variety of addresses holding greater than 0.1 BTC has climbed steadily by means of each market cycle, till now. Data shows that addresses in this cohort haven’t grown at all around the previous two years, breaking a pattern that held for greater than a decade.
The stagnation signifies a change in how smaller and mid-sized investors engage with Bitcoin, whilst broader institutional exercise in the market continues to rise.
Small Holder Participation Reaches A Standstill
The 0.1 BTC threshold has traditionally represented an vital milestone for retail holders, massive sufficient to sign dedication however sufficiently small to stay extensively attainable. For greater than a decade, wallets crossing that line grew 12 months after 12 months, even throughout drawdowns when long-term patrons had been accumulating quietly.
That sample is now not intact. The variety of addresses with greater than 0.1 BTC has flattened since 2023 and is exhibiting no indicators of returning to its earlier trajectory. Particularly, knowledge from the on-chain analytics platform Santiment exhibits that the variety of these addresses has stalled at round 4.44 million for the previous 12 months. This means that fewer new individuals are selecting to construct self-custodied Bitcoin positions at this stage.
The stagnation turns into extra notable contemplating Bitcoin’s rising mainstream visibility and repeated pushes towards new all-time highs this 12 months. In earlier cycles, such situations have led to a surge in retail accumulation. This time, the tackle depend has stayed frozen, and this implies retail addresses holding Bitcoin may truly be plateauing.
How Bitcoin’s Holder Base Is Changing
Although on-chain knowledge factors to a slowdown in the expansion of total Bitcoin addresses holding greater than 0.1 BTC, it doesn’t essentially sign a decline in total adoption. For many market individuals, Bitcoin publicity now occurs totally off-chain.
Larger investor cohorts, from high-net-worth people to funds and company entities, are shopping for enormous quantities of Bitcoin. For occasion, Santiment data shows that giant Bitcoin holders controlling greater than 100 BTC have elevated their balances all through 2024 and 2025, whilst smaller tackle cohorts have stalled.
At the identical time, extra buyers are choosing to access Bitcoin by means of custodial avenues as an alternative of managing their very own wallets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have turn out to be some of the vital gateways for brand spanking new BTC publicity. In the US alone, Spot Bitcoin ETFs now control nearly $120 billion price of Bitcoin, with BlackRock’s IBIT constantly recording the strongest demand.
Together, these developments level to a brand new section in Bitcoin’s growth. What was as soon as dominated by particular person self-custodied customers is now more and more formed by establishments, ETFs, funds, and professionally managed capital. Therefore, the numbers from on-chain pockets metrics replicate a smaller portion of the particular person base.
