Since Bitcoin’s launch, the number of addresses holding more than 0.1 BTC has steadily increased during every market cycle until now. This is evident from data The addresses in this cohort have not grown at all over the past two years, breaking a trend that has persisted for more than a decade.
The stagnation indicates a change in the smaller and medium size Investors will engage in Bitcoin, even as broader institutional activity in the market continues to increase.
The participation of small holders comes to a standstill
The 0.1 BTC threshold historically represents a significant milestone for retail holders, large enough to signal engagement, but small enough to remain broadly feasible. For more than a decade, portfolios that exceeded this mark grew year after year, even during periods when long-term buyers were quietly accumulating.
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That pattern is no longer intact. The number of addresses holding more than 0.1 BTC has leveled off since 2023 and shows no signs of returning to the previous trajectory. Notably, data from on-chain analytics platform Santiment shows that the number of these addresses has remained stagnant at approximately 4.44 million over the past year. This suggests that fewer new participants are choosing to build self-held Bitcoin positions at this level.
The stagnation becomes even more striking given Bitcoin’s increasing mainstream visibility and repeated attempts to reach new all-time highs this year. In previous cycles, such conditions have led to a surge in retail accumulation. This time, the number of addresses has remained frozen, meaning that Bitcoin retail addresses may be stagnating.
How Bitcoin’s holder base is changing
While on-chain data indicates a slowdown in the growth of the total number of Bitcoin addresses by more than 0.1 BTC, this does not necessarily mean a decline in overall adoption. For many market participants, exposure to Bitcoin is now completely off-chain.
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Larger investor cohorts, from high-net-worth individuals to funds and corporate entities, are purchasing massive amounts of Bitcoin. For example, Show santiment data that large Bitcoin holders controlling more than 100 BTC will have increased their balances in 2024 and 2025, even as smaller address cohorts have stalled.
At the same time there are more investors choose to access Bitcoin through prisons instead of managing their own wallets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become one of the main gateways for new BTC exposure. In the US alone Spot Bitcoin ETFs Now Have Control Bitcoin worth nearly $120 billion, with BlackRock’s IBIT consistently recording the strongest demand.
Together, these developments point to a new phase in Bitcoin’s development. What was once dominated by individual, self-managed users is now increasingly shaped by institutions, ETFs, funds and professionally managed capital. Therefore, the wallet statistics numbers reflect a smaller portion of the actual user base.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com