Bloomberg: 40% of all Bitcoins are concentrated in the hands of 1000 people

Just over 1,000 people own about 40% of all Bitcoins mined. This opinion was expressed by the head of the financial markets research department at AQR Capital Management, Aaron Brown.

Aaron Brown, head of the financial markets research department at AQR Capital Management, noted that these people, the so-called “whales,” can also coordinate their actions or devote a narrow circle of people to them.

Many of the “whales” have known each other for many years and have remained faithful to Bitcoin from the very first days, when few people took the currency seriously. Also, in his opinion, “whales” could potentially unite to collapse or, conversely, support the market. Moreover, whales can coordinate transactions or communicate them to a select few. 

“I think there are several hundred guys. They can certainly call each other and, most likely, have already done so,” said Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital. Bitcoin is not a security, so legally a group of owners is not prohibited from concertedly buying the cryptocurrency in order to raise the market, and then immediately selling it.”

Regulators are very slow to respond to developments in the situation in the cryptocurrency market, so many of the existing rules are still vague. If traders not only raise the price, but also spread rumors online, then this could be considered fraud. The Bittrex exchange recently warned users that their accounts could be blocked if they collude to manipulate the price. For other cryptocurrencies, the laws may be different. Depending on how altcoins are structured and how investors plan to make money on them, some could be regarded as real currencies, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Bloomberg asked one of the early investors and major owners of Bitcoin, Roger Ver, about the possibility of collusion. In the letter he replied: “I suspect this may be true. People should be free in how they manage their money. But I never had time for such things." 

According to https://www.bloomberg.com