For the first time since January 2018, the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network surpassed 1 million, reaching 1,120,216 on August 6, 2020, according to new data shared today by tech researcher Kevin Rooke.
The number of active addresses includes unique addresses with successful transactions, either while sending or receiving Bitcoin.
During the bull run in late 2017, the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network reached an All-Time-High (ATH) of 1,290,363 on December 14, 2017, just three days before the price of Bitcoin traded at its highest around $19,665.
Since the start of the new decade, the number of active addresses has regained momentum. On August 6, 2020, the total daily addresses retouched 1,120,216 active addresses for the first time since early 2018. One reason for the increase could be tied to the recent surge in the value of Bitcoin over the last few weeks which has attracted more market participants.
Bitcoin distribution becomes more decentralized
It is also an expected assumption that another reason behind the rise in active addresses should be linked to the number of whale wallets (this includes all addresses holding at least 1,000 BTC) on the network.
In 2018, about a third of Bitcoin’s cap supply was held by just 1,600 BTC wallet addresses, including those owned by crypto exchanges and few whale addresses. However, according to Glassnode, Bitcoin has become more decentralized in terms of coin ownership for the first time in ten years as a larger share of BTC circulating supply is now being held by addresses with less than 100 BTC.
“The percentage of supply owned by entities holding upwards of 10 BTC grew from 5.1% to 13.8% in 5 years, while the percent held by entities with 100-100k BTC declined from 62.9% to 49.8%,” Glassnode noted.
The opposite is the case for wallets held by small investors as another tweet from the co-founder of crypto research firm DAR Crypto, Lucas Nuzzi, shows that the number of addresses containing $10 or more of Bitcoin has reached 16.6 million.
See Also: Number of Distinct Addresses on Ethereum Just Crossed 100 Million
