On-chain data shows that the number of sharks and whales in the Bitcoin network has reached a new record, indicating the continued influx of large organizations.
Bitcoin Sharks & Whales Sit on Record Count
According to data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment, there is currently a record number of Bitcoin investors holding more than 100 tokens. The index cited by Santiment is “Supply Distribution,” which tells us the total number of addresses that are currently part of a given wallet group.
Addresses are divided into these groups based on the number of coins they hold in their balance. The 1 to 10 coins group, for example, includes all investors between 1 and 10 BTC. Now, here’s the Bitcoin Supply Distribution chart shared by Santiment showing the trend in its value in three ranges: 0 to 1, 1 to 100, and 100+ coins:
Looks like the mid-tier investors have diverged in their behavior recently | Source: Santiment on X
As shown in the graph above, Bitcoin Supply Distribution has increased to 100+ BTC and 0 to 1 BTC collections since mid-2024, showing growth among both large and very small investors. The group of 1 to 100 coins, however, showed the opposite direction in this window; addresses of this size have seen their population decline.
At the current exchange rate, the low and high ends of a collection of 1 to 100 coins translates to $72,000 and $7.2 million, respectively. Given this size, group owners can be medium-sized organizations that hold more power than brokers, but they are still insignificant compared to large owners. Today, there are 954,000 addresses that fall within this category.
The reduction in the number of these investors may in part be a result of the promotion/demotion of other groups. Either way, the trend would suggest that the owner base has become more concentrated at the extreme end and at the lower end. Following the growth of a collection of 100+ coins, large investors saw the population jump to 20,031 BTC, an all-time high (ATH). This list includes two important groups of Bitcoin investors known as sharks and whales.
From the chart, it can be seen that Bitcoin sharks and whales saw a slight decline between 2017 and 2024. Something has changed in mid-2024, however, with big-money interest once again pouring back into cryptocurrency. So far, the new uptrend has been maintained, but it remains to be seen whether the range of 100+ coins will continue to grow in the near future or will find stability again.
Just as large investors have seen the population hit record highs recently, retail investors are also sitting at record highs. Currently, their Supply Distribution is worth 57.6 million, which far exceeds that of other groups.
BTC price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is hovering around $72,400, up more than 2.5% over the past seven days.
The trend in the price of the coin over the last five days | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Planning process because bitcoinist focuses on delivering well-researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We maintain strict sourcing standards, and each page is diligently reviewed by our team of senior technical experts and experienced editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content to our readers.
