Bitcoin Addresses Holding At Least 1 BTC Hit Record High

The number of Bitcoin addresses holding at least one Bitcoin has reached an all-time high, according to data from metrics and analytics site Glassnode.

As of today, there are 824,193 Bitcoin addresses holding at least one Bitcoin, the equivalent to $14,096. This surpasses the previous all-time high of 824,160, observed on September 17.

The number of addresses holding at least one Bitcoin has been steadily climbing ever since Bitcoin’s inception in 2008—even though the price of Bitcoin has vastly increased since then.

But the fresh record could have something to do with Bitcoin’s price, which has increased by about $3,500 in the past month alone and about $10,000 since the mid-March, coronavirus-triggered market crash. Equally, a high price for Bitcoin could make this an even greater victory for the coin, since it’s comparatively expensive to own a Bitcoin. 

Why did Bitcoin’s price rise? A mystery: thank the pandemic, the US election, Decrypt, whatever or whomever you like, and you’ll probably be correct—this year has dropped an endless supply of ingredients into the pressure cooker that produces Bitcoin’s price.

Other records continue to be set on the Bitcoin blockchain, according to Glassnode data. Yesterday, Glassnode data showed that Bitcoin mining difficulty fell by 16%, the second-largest adjustment ever—the previous record was set in October 2011, when it declined by 18%. 

It’s not just Bitcoin. Glassnode also reported today that the number of Ethereum addresses holding more than 100 coins (about $40,000) reached an all-time high of 53,019. This beats its previous record of 52,943, set on July 13 of this year.