According to new data from Chainalysis, the number of coins being used for trading by individual traders is growing. Approximately 4.8 million bitcoins (32% of the total supply of coins in existence, minus lost coins) were held in the wallets of active traders as of August 31. At the end of 2017, when the market peaked, individuals owned just 3.8 million bitcoins (representing 26%).
Chainalysis economist Philip Gradwell said that people are now ready to invest in Bitcoin and wait to spend it, and this can be considered the completion of the first stage of adoption. The emergence of technical solutions aimed at improving the network, such as the Lightning Network, which allows for faster payment processing, may dissuade users from selling their coins during the next bull market. A significant amount of Bitcoin (6.3 billion) is still predominantly held as dormant investments by both institutions and individuals. Also driving is the significant increase in the price of Bitcoin over the past 10 years.
Chainalysis economist Kimberly Grauer said the equalization of shares between investment and active transaction accounts is a sign of a maturing market with less volatility.
In addition, Chainalysis found that from August to December, the number of Bitcoins owned by exchanges increased by just 93,299. Considering that there are a million more coins in personal wallets over the same period, this means that the number of people using personal storage solutions is growing faster than the number of simple speculators.
Gradwell also said that activity in various payment processing services and the darknet market is not increasing as much as overall wallet activity, although it is impossible to say what percentage of the activity represents peer-to-peer trading. Gradwell described the current state of Bitcoin's distribution as more diverse, thanks in part to long-term investors who sold the coins to new speculators late last year and early this year. Of the roughly 28.5 million Bitcoin wallets on the market, he estimates that only 150,000 hold more than 10 Bitcoins each.
According to coindesk.com
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