Bitcoin wallets holding at least $1,000 are growing in a ‘positive trend’: Fidelity

There are more Bitcoin holders than ever before. Each one is smaller than a shrimp, but overall it is like a whale.

in report In an announcement Monday, Fidelity Digital Assets highlighted the growing number of Bitcoin addresses containing at least $1,000 worth of BTC, calling it a “positive growth trend.”

Analysts wrote that the constituency grew to an all-time high of 10.6 million wallets in mid-March, a milestone that represents a 100% increase over 2023’s 5.3 million Bitcoin addresses.

“This could indicate increased distribution of Bitcoin and increased adoption among ‘ordinary’ people,” the analysts wrote. He added that the indicator shows “the growth of small addresses accumulating and storing Bitcoin despite the price rise.”

However, Fidelity cautions that this indicator is not 100% accurate due to Bitcoin’s price rise and address consolidation during the period. At the time of this writing, it is said that $1,000 can purchase approximately 0.016 Bitcoin. CoinGecko.

In the cryptocurrency industry, the maritime hierarchy is often used to describe Bitcoin holders. A “whale” is an address that holds at least 1,000 bitcoins, while at the other end of the spectrum, a “shrimp” holds at least 1 bitcoin. Based on the marine food chain, people holding between 0 and 1 Bitcoin could probably be called “plankton.”

Analysts at Fidelity wrote that the short-term outlook for Bitcoin is overall very positive and presented numerous “long-term” data points. Of the 16 indicators for Bitcoin tracked, a quarter were considered “negative” or “neutral” and half were “positive.”

Another metric tracked in the report shows how much Bitcoin is held on cryptocurrency exchanges. Fidelity said the multi-year downward trend continued in the first quarter of 2024, with Bitcoin down 4.2% to 2.3 million Bitcoin, 30% lower than the 3 million Bitcoin peak in 2020.

But the report contains another warning: “This does not necessarily equate to an increase in self-custody.” The authors noted that custodians such as Fidelity are developing solutions that would allow customers to control their own keys while trading through the exchange.

One “negative” indicator is the level of historical paper profits for Bitcoin holders. Analysts explained that more than 99% of Bitcoin addresses were in the green by the end of the first quarter, and that “as the number of profitable addresses increases, selling may become more likely as traders and new investors look to take profits.” I did. .”

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.