How Many People Really Own Bitcoin Globally?

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fewunderstandLegendary
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#1Sep 4, 2018, 08:05 PM
So, how many people actually own Bitcoin? That's probably the biggest question in crypto right now. Since it dropped in 2009, it feels like adoption is still pretty low compared to the total population.
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shard777Full Member
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#2Sep 4, 2018, 09:50 PM
Yeah, they say around 100 million people have Bitcoin. But with 8 billion people in the world, that’s just about 1-2%. Seems really small, right?
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CalmMinerFull Member
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#3Sep 5, 2018, 01:57 AM
You can’t really pin down the exact number of holders. We just have trading volumes and market cap to go off. Adoption’s been increasing, but it’s hard to quantify.
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#4Sep 5, 2018, 04:30 AM
I kinda disagree with that estimate. The anonymity factor makes it tough to track actual users. You could have a billion people using Bitcoin and we’d never know.
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chris1337Full Member
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#5Sep 5, 2018, 10:04 AM
True. The metrics are all over the place. One wallet can belong to multiple users, or one person can have many wallets. It’s messy.
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RogueCipherFull Member
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#6Sep 6, 2018, 07:40 PM
Right, and even with estimates, it’s hard to get anything concrete. If only 1-2% of people own it now, imagine if it jumped to 10% prices would skyrocket.
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#7Sep 8, 2018, 10:04 AM
I think the 100 million number comes from exchanges. But another source claimed way more holders. Who really knows? The reality could be much higher or lower.
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stacksatsHero Member
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#8Sep 8, 2018, 01:30 PM
Exactly! Also, you gotta consider that not everyone can hold Bitcoin. Young kids or super old folks aren’t likely to own any.
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lonealphaNewbie
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#9Sep 8, 2018, 03:52 PM
So, more adoption means higher demand, which hikes prices. But then again, new users might find it harder to buy as it gets pricier.
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cobra42Full Member
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#10Sep 10, 2018, 01:29 AM
Seriously, some people are way too pessimistic. I saw a tweet saying less than 4% own Bitcoin, but that info seemed sketchy to me.
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stacksatsHero Member
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#11Sep 10, 2018, 04:31 AM
If we think about it, Bitcoin could potentially grow massively if adoption scales up. Just a few more percent could change everything.
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#12Sep 10, 2018, 06:43 AM
We can’t ever really know for sure, though. Anonymity is key here. Even address counts don’t tell us much if people have multiple ones.
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bear100Hero Member
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#13Sep 11, 2018, 05:34 PM
It’s a total guessing game. Most users prefer to stay anonymous, so we’re left with blind spots everywhere.
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#14Sep 11, 2018, 11:48 PM
I think some folks are just overthinking it. Sure, not every user is on a private wallet, but there are still ways to estimate.
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alexsatNewbie
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#15Sep 12, 2018, 12:26 PM
Yeah, but it’s all about how you define ownership. Many people may just hold on exchanges without actually using Bitcoin.
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omega23Newbie
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#16Sep 12, 2018, 03:33 PM
Exactly! There’s this whole gray area with users versus holders. A lot of people might only buy and not really engage with Bitcoin.
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WildWolfMember
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#17Sep 12, 2018, 04:58 PM
Don’t forget about the custodial wallets those complicate things even more. One account can hold for many users.
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#18Sep 12, 2018, 08:23 PM
For sure! If we had more than half the population owning Bitcoin, prices would be insane. Just imagining it makes me anxious.
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stack42Newbie
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#19Sep 13, 2018, 01:05 AM
The whole 10% adoption thing seems unrealistic. Look at El Salvador; it’s been a struggle for them to get it working.
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it5_lynxMember
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#20Sep 13, 2018, 02:23 AM
I think Bitcoin will never really reach that level of adoption. It’ll take generations for people to fully accept it as currency.
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