Like with every currency, Bitcoin also has its group of very rich people. Its very own “one percent”. However, in cryptocurrency’s case, this group is composed of 47 individuals who own 28.9 percent of all digital coins.
The numbers were revealed by the Finnish entrepreneur Risto Pietilä, based on Blockchain data exposed on the site Bitcoinrichlist.com, and then quoted by Business Insider. Martti Malmi, a prominent Bitcoiner and one of the world’s first developers, agrees with these results: “the order of magnitude seems right”.
According to the numbers, a small group of 47 people owns 28.9 percent of all Bitcoins, which are approximately 12 million so far. These millionaires own at least $10 million in their virtual wallets. Then comes another group, this one bigger, with 880 people who own 21.5 percent of this cryptocurrency.
This means that less than a thousand people – 927, to be more exact – control half of the entire digital currency market. And although lots of them would rather remain anonymous, some don’t mind about the fame. The Winklevoss twins or Roger Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus”, are just two examples.
Next, another 10,000 individuals control almost a quarter, with 24,8 percent of all Bitcoins. Finally, the rest of the community, about a million individuals, owns a little bit more than 20 percent. There are also the lost coins (about 500,000), the ones that are out of circulation, whether because the government seized them or because people lost their passwords.
Culling this data only yields addresses…not individuals. What percentage of US Dollars do you suppose all of the biggest banks in the US hold? Addresses are used worldwide by exchanges, mining pools, you name it. These “rich lists” are pointless. How many belong to lost wallets from miners in 2009-2010 who abandoned them, not knowing the future?
It’s a pointless exercise, IMO.
Besides…what, I wonder, would it illustrate? That it’s a distribution of wealth that mirrors most other world currencies?