How Many People Own Bitcoin?
Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin has established itself at the top of the cryptocurrency charts.
The finite supply of 21 million bitcoins worldwide has contributed to the exclusivity of this cryptocurrency and its volatility over time.
Below, we'll dive into some key statistics related to Bitcoin and its user base.
Contents
- Top Blockchain Statistics - (Editor’s Choice)
- Number Of Bitcoin Owners
- Bitcoin Daily Transactions
- How Many People Have Heard Of Bitcoin?
- Millennials And Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Vs Other Popular Cryptocurrencies
- Which Countries Have Banned Bitcoin Users?
- Which Countries Have Made Bitcoin Legal Tender?
Top Blockchain Statistics - (Editor’s Choice)
- Around 50 million people own Bitcoin.
- There are more than 50,000 confirmed transactions of Bitcoin daily.
- Research from July 2021 shows that 89% of American adults have heard of Bitcoin.
- An estimated 1 billion people around the world use cryptocurrencies.
- 29% of all millennial American parents own cryptocurrency.
- 24% of Americans said they don’t understand how cryptocurrency works
Number Of Bitcoin Owners
As of March 2024, there are just over 46 million Bitcoin wallets holding at least $1 of value. This figure is based on the number of unique addresses.
In total, approximately 460 million Bitcoin wallets have been created. However, around 90% of these wallets are inactive or hold minimal value.
In fact, less than half of the 46 million wallets (21.5 million) with any value are worth more than $100.
And around 1 in 4 (22.2%) Bitcoin wallets hold value of more than $1,000.
Here's a breakdown of Bitcoin wallets by value:
| Bitcoin Balance | Number of Unique Addresses | Proportion of Wallets* |
| Over $1 | 46 million | 100% |
| Over $100 | 21.5 million | 46.8% |
| Over $1,000 | 10.2 million | 22.2% |
| Over $10,000 | 3.4 million | 7.5% |
| Over $100,000 | 0.6 million | 1.4% |
| Over $1 million | 0.1 million | 0.2% |
| Over $10 million | ~10,000 | <0.01% |
Sources: cryptonews, BitInfoCharts
Bitcoin Daily Transactions
The average number of Bitcoin daily transactions between January 29th and March 18th, 2024, was approximately 378,000.
During this period, daily transactions peaked on January 29th at around 575,000 and dropped to a low of nearly 278,000 on February 6th.
Here's a look at daily Bitcoin transactions over time:
| Year | Peak Daily Bitcoin Transactions | Date of Peak | Bitcoin Market Price | Low Daily Bitcoin Transactions | Date of Low | Bitcoin Market Price |
| H1 2020 | ~348,000 | Mar 10th, 2020* | ~$8,000 | ~257,000 | Mar 24th, 2020* | ~$6,000 |
| H2 2020 | ~354,000 | Sep 8th, 2020* | ~$10,000 | ~225,000 | Nov 3rd, 2020* | ~$14,000 |
| H1 2021 | ~161,000 | Jun 27th, 2021* | ~$35,000 | ~46,000 | Feb 21st, 2021* | ~$56,000 |
| H2 2021 | ~217,000 | Oct 31st, 2021* | ~$62,000 | ~166,000 | Jul 11th, 2021* | ~$34,000 |
| H1 2022 | ~234,000 | May 15th, 2022* | ~$30,000 | ~209,000 | Feb 13th, 2022* | ~$42,000 |
| H2 2022 | ~230,000 | Nov 20th, 2022* | ~$17,000 | ~196,000 | Jul 31st, 2022* | ~$24,000 |
| H1 2023 | ~632,000 | May 14th, 2023 | ~$27,000 | ~188,000 | Jan 1st, 2023 | ~$17,000 |
| H2 2023 | ~731,000 | Dec 31st, 2023 | ~$42,000 | ~242,000 | Oct 8th, 2023 | ~$28,000 |
| H1 2024* | ~658,000 | Jan 1st, 2024 | ~$42,000 | ~278,000 | Feb 6th, 2024 | ~$43,000 |
Sources: YCharts, Blockchain.com
How Many People Have Heard of Bitcoin?
2021 data shows that approximately 89% of American adults have heard of Bitcoin. Among those, 27% would consider investing in cryptocurrency, and 13% already had.
Another survey found that 80% of white respondents were more aware of Bitcoin than 66% of Hispanic respondents and 61% of African-American respondents. Additional data from another survey noted that 78% of men who responded reported being aware of Bitcoin compared to 71% of women.
Despite Bitcoin's growing recognition, around 7 in 10 Americans (69%) claim to not understand cryptocurrency.
Source: Yahoo! News, PR Newswire, YouGov
Millennials and Bitcoin
As many as 94% of crypto buyers are Gen Z or Millennials.
As of August 2021, 29% of all Millennial American parents own cryptocurrency. That's compared to 13% across all generations.
Around 1 in 5 (21%) of Millennials aren't concerned that the value of crypto could fall to $0.
Data shows that 67% of Millennials surveyed believed that Bitcoin outranked gold as a safe-haven asset.
Sources: Stilt, USA Today Money, deVere Group
Bitcoin vs Other Popular Cryptocurrencies
The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies as of March 2024, is $2.41 trillion. By itself, Bitcoin contributes $1.32 trillion of that (approximately 55%).
The next closest crypto in terms of market cap is Ethereum ($425 million). Bitcoin's market cap is currently more than 3x that figure.
Here's a comparison between Bitcoin and the next 10 biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap:
| Crypto | Price | Price Difference | Market Cap | Market Cap Difference | Trade Volume (24hr) | Trade Volume (24hr) Difference |
| Bitcoin | $67,000 | - | $1.32 trillion | - | $57.6 million | - |
| Ethereum | $3,550 | 19x | $425 million | 3.1x | $31.8 million | 1.8x |
| Tether USDt | $1 | 67,000x | $104 million | 12.7x | $110.6 million | 0.5x |
| BNB | $567 | 118x | $84.7 million | 15.6x | $3.1 million | 18.6x |
| Solana | $189 | 355x | $84 million | 15.7x | $7.7 million | 7.5x |
| XRP | $0.62 | 108,065x | $33.9 million | 38.9x | $2.6 million | 22.2x |
| USDC | $1 | 67,000x | $31.7 million | 41.6x | $12.2 million | 4.7x |
| Cardano | $0.64 | 104,688x | $22.6 million | 58.4x | $0.8 million | 72x |
| Dogecoin | $0.15 | 446,667x | $21.7 million | 60.8x | $3.1 million | 18.6x |
| Avalanche | $55 | 1,218x | $20.7 million | 63.8x | $1.8 million | 32x |
| Shiba Inu | <$0.01 | >2,470,000,000x | $15.9 million | 83x | $1.8 million | 32x |
Source: CoinMarketCap
Which Countries Have Banned Bitcoin Users?
Several countries have banned cryptocurrency at various times including:
| Country | Region | Legality | Banking Legality | Banned Since |
| Afghanistan | Asia | X | X | 2022 |
| Algeria | Africa | X | X | 2018 |
| Argentina | South America | ✓ | X | 2022 |
| Bangladesh | Asia | X | X | 2014 |
| Bolivia | South America | ✓ | X | 2014 |
| Cambodia | Asia | ✓ | X | 2018 |
| Canada | North America | ✓ | X | 2018 |
| China | Asia | X | X | 2013 |
| Colombia | South America | ✓ | X | 2014 |
| Ecuador | South America | ✓ | X | 2018 |
| Egypt | Africa | X | X | 2020 |
| Iraq | Asia | X | X | 2017 |
| Iran | Asia | ✓ | X | 2018 |
| Jordan | Asia | ✓ | X | 2014 |
| Kuwait | Asia | X | X | 2023 |
| Lesotho | Africa | X | X | 2018 |
| Libya | Africa | X | X | 2018 |
| Morocco | Africa | X | X | 2017 |
| Myanmar | Asia | X | X | 2020 |
| Namibia | Africa | ✓ | X | 2017 |
| Nepal | Asia | X | X | 2017 |
| Nigeria | Africa | ✓ | X | 2017 |
| Qatar | Asia | ✓ | X | 2018 |
| Republic of Congo | Africa | X | X | 2022 |
| Russia | Asia/Europe | ✓ | X | 2022 |
| Saudi Arabia | Asia | ✓ | X | 2017 |
| Sierra Leone | Africa | X | X | 2019 |
| Taiwan | Asia | ✓ | X | 2013 |
| Tunisia | Africa | X | X | 2018 |
| Turkey | Asia/Europe | ✓ | X | 2021 |
| UAE | Asia | ✓ | X | 2020 |
Source: Techopedia, Wikipedia
Which Countries Have Made Bitcoin Legal Tender?
El Salvador is the first and only country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender as of June 2021. However, other countries welcome payment in Bitcoin under certain conditions.
For instance:
- The United States considers Bitcoin a “money services business”, subject to registration and record-keeping under the Bank Secrecy Act. The IRS also classifies it as property for taxation purposes.
- Canada similarly views Bitcoin as money services, not currency. Any Bitcoin transaction falls under “barter transactions,” and any income generated is considered business income.
- Australia has ruled that Bitcoin is an asset for purposes of capital gains tax. It does not consider Bitcoin currency.
- The European Union considers buying and selling digital currencies a “supply of services” that is exempt from value-added tax. However, individual nations, such as the United Kingdom, have specific Bitcoin tax regulations.
Sources: Investopedia, Coindesk, Morgan Lewis, Reuters
Conclusion
Bitcoin continues to lead the way in the crypto landscape.
For more related content, check out top cryptocurrency trends and 10 important blockchain trends.
