Record number of users: number of addresses holding Bitcoin rises to new all-time high
There are now more active addresses holding Bitcoin than ever before. After continuing to grow at a parabolic rate, the total number of non-zero Bitcoin addresses reached an all-time high of 36,896,000 on Friday.
The number then fell back to around 36,770,000 on Sunday afternoon, according to data from on-chain analytics
This is clearly good news for the crypto market as Bitcoin reaches new monumental heights as cryptocurrencies and Crypto Code blockchain technology become more mainstream. With more institutional, corporate and private interest in cryptocurrencies than ever before, it is only a matter of time before new highs are set for the metric.
However, does this necessarily equate to a bullish signal?
Let’s take a look at the numbers. At the peak of the last bitcoin bull run, there were a total of 28 million active non-zero BTC addresses.
When bitcoin prices dropped from the then highs of $19,000 to $6,000, that number dropped drastically by almost 7 million, or 25%.
But strangely, there has been no clear correlation between the two variables since then. While the price levels of the major cryptocurrencies continued to fluctuate, the number of non-zero addresses continued to grow steadily.
Moreover, the total number of non-zero addresses even increased when Bitcoin crashed by 50% on 12 March 2020.
A key difference between the two periods studied is that Bitcoin is basically no longer just a niche investment. The number of crypto ATMs around the world has increased by 750% since 2018, according to Statistica.
This year alone, fintech giants Square and Paypal began enabling crypto payments, and major companies like Microsoft are accepting Bitcoin as a valid form of payment.
Historical data suggests that the number of non-zero addresses has not been a dependent variable of BTC price action since late 2017 and early 2018. From this, we can conclude that a rise in total addresses does not directly equate to a bitcoin rally.
Nevertheless, strong growth in the number of wallets suggests that Bitcoin (to buy bitcoins by instant transfer guide) has much more room to grow.