70% of Bitcoin is Still in Individual Hands

According to analysts from River, nearly 70% of all Bitcoin is held by individual owners (i.e., private individuals).

Honestly, this number surprised me. Personally, I had far more Bitcoin 10 years ago than I do now. I believed that this was a general trend: as the price rises, it's hard to resist selling, meaning the higher the price, the more people sell.

Aside from price growth, I thought cryptocurrency exchanges would also contribute to Bitcoin slipping out of individual owners' hands. I assumed exchanges held a massive Bitcoin reserve - likely comparable to what private individuals collectively possess.

Governments are also seizing Bitcoin, often during criminal investigations, and they rarely return those coins to the victims of these crimes (the U.S. is a prime example).

Commercial companies like Strategy, which recently bought another 130 Bitcoin, are also pulling coins away from individual holders.

And let's not forget ETFs, which require real Bitcoin reserves and steadily increase their holdings over time.

If the data showing that 70% of Bitcoin remains in private hands is accurate, it inspires confidence in Bitcoin's future. Sixteen years after its launch, people still recognize the importance of Bitcoin itself, not just its price.

Perhaps the coins I parted with over the years, selling them voluntarily, didn’t end up with institutional holders but rather with other private individuals - just ones more forward-thinking than I was. If so, I’m happy for them.

Lastly, a quick reminder: when you exchange any crypto for Bitcoin on rabbit.io, you'll receive real Bitcoin directly in your wallet - not just a promise to pay you later, as would be the case on many CEXs.