Over 11 million bitcoin has no known owner. Here's what it means
The large number of coins held in unidentified wallets shows that retail investors have been in this market for years, observers said. But this interpretation comes with a caveat.
Over 11 million bitcoins remain unowned, according to blockchain data firm Galaxy. This accounts for roughly 55% of the total bitcoin supply, leaving a significant portion of the cryptocurrency in the hands of unknown owners. These unattributed bitcoins could belong to individuals, institutions, or entities that have lost access to their coins, making self-custody a prevalent trend in the industry.
Galaxy's head of research, Alex Thorn, highlighted this as evidence of the widespread use of self-custody, where individuals maintain control over their bitcoin keys despite the rise of exchanges, funds, and institutional custodians. Despite the increasing institutionalization of bitcoin, a large amount of the cryptocurrency, possibly even the majority, continues to be held by individuals through self-custody.
Xapo Bank, a bitcoin-focused bank, reinforced Thorn's findings, stating that the presence of such a large number of coins in unnamed wallets signifies that retail investors have been actively involved in the market for over a decade. As the native token of the Bitcoin blockchain, bitcoin enables peer-to-peer transactions, with miners validating and adding transactions to the public ledger in exchange for newly minted bitcoins.
While most of the bitcoin supply is now attributed to various entities, the unowned 55% remains a significant portion, comprising lost, forgotten, or inaccessible bitcoins.
Written by urgent.news from CoinDesk's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
