Data: The number of Bitcoin retail investors has grown steadily over the past five years, the number of whales has decreased, decentralization has continued to increase, and adoption has risen

Over the past three years, the number of addresses containing less than 10 BTC has increased significantly, indicating that Bitcoin’s decentralization and adoption are increasing.

It’s another exciting day in the Bitcoin space. No, this time it has nothing to do with BTC’s rising price. Sure, Bitcoin’s current price is making Bitcoiners around the world smile, but there’s something else going on.

The latest data shows that whales no longer control the supply of Bitcoin. Over the past five years, the number of retail investors in BTC has grown steadily. Does this mean a rise in Bitcoin adoption?

The number of holders of ≤10 BTC increased, while the number of holders holding 100 – 100K BTC decreased significantly

Recent data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode indicates a decrease in “deep pocket Bitcoin investors.” This is not a recent change, but a trend found over the past 5 years. Additionally, it was found that retail BTC ownership has increased by double-digit percentages. According to a tweet published by Glassnode:

Control of #Bitcoin supply is steadily shifting towards smaller entities. The percentage of supply owned by entities holding ≤10 BTC has increased from 5.1% to 13.8% in 5 years, while the percentage owned by entities holding 100-100k BTC has decreased from 62.9% to 49.8%.

Percentage of Bitcoin supply owned by entities ≤ 10 BTC. Source: Glassnode

This indicates that Bitcoin ownership is becoming more decentralized and democratized, just as Satoshi intended when designing the protocol. This also means that the risk of whales cashing out from the ongoing rally is also decreasing. In addition to this, there is another indicator that BTC retail investment interest has surged.

The number of addresses holding more than $10 worth of BTC hits an all-time high

Bitcoin as an asset can only achieve its true purpose if more people own it. Data from Coin Metrics shows that this is indeed the case. In a tweet on Tuesday, Lucas Nuzzi, network data manager at the crypto data provider, observed that the number of Bitcoin addresses holding more than $10 worth of BTC has reached the 16.6 million milestone.

This is an all-time high, and is many millions higher than during the 2017 bull run.

A new adoption cycle is brewing

The number of addresses holding more than $10 worth of BTC (16.6 million) and ETH (6 million) has hit an all-time high. Millions more than the number of addresses at the peak of the 2017 bubble.

Number of addresses holding BTC worth more than $10. Source: Coin Metrics

Early observations from Glassnode clearly show that Bitcoin adoption has increased significantly over the past 3-5 years. Retail investors are not only participating in the explosive price increase, but also retaining the value of their fiat funds. Why?

Bitcoin is a global asset. Dovish economic/monetary policies by governments around the world, especially the U.S. government, are undermining the value and relevance of their fiat currencies. BTC investors are well aware that these wrong moves will have a huge inflationary impact on overall economic conditions.

In addition, according to a recent report by Goldman Sachs, the US dollar will lose its dominance in the international foreign exchange market.

Hard assets such as Bitcoin and gold have become de facto safe havens, shielding people from “short-term shocks” from uncertain macroeconomic factors.