According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) investors own 5 million BTC. Put another way, this means that only 0.01% of all BTC holders control 27% of the total supply of 18.9 million coins. Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal adds further perspective by asserting that BTC’s one percent is in possession of about $232 billion. That is a greater share control than the wealthiest US households control in dollars.
This study questions the perceived and generally-accepted centralized nature of BTC. According to the MIT Sloan School of Management, Antoinette Schoar:
“Despite having been around for 14 years and the hype it has ratcheted up, it’s still the case that it’s a very concentrated ecosystem.”
Another observer, Quantum Economics founder Mati Greenspan also weighed in. According to Greenspan, pseudonymous BTC creator Satoshi Nakamoto controls a sizable chunk of the digital currency’s supply in circulation. In Greenspan’s own words:
“Satoshi’s coins alone make up for more than 5%. Over time, the ownership of Bitcoin is designed to get more distributed. For fiat, the opposite tends to happen.”
In addition to this, there is also a substantial volume of BTC supply that is not under the control of anyone. This percentage may end up never being accounted for or go out of circulation as a result of lost access.
