Small investors control 41% of Bitcoin supply, says Santiment

Bitcoin (BTC) ownership distribution is a critical indicator of market dynamics. This is because it measures the number of cryptocurrency users. Therefore, it indicates whether the adoption of BTC and the network continues to grow or not.

According to a more recent analysis from Santiment, some intriguing changes to Bitcoin ownership patterns have emerged. The graph shows that small investors now account for 41% of the entire circulating supply of Bitcoins on the market. Based on the current supply of 19.5 million, that gives about 8 million Bitcoins in the hands of small investors.

For Santiment, a small investor is someone who has less than 100 BTC in their portfolio.

Bitcoin ‘plebs’ record

Also known as “plebs”, the group of small investors has reached a new historic level, now holding 41.1% of the available supply. Additionally, Santiment noted that retail investors have been accumulating BTC since June at an increasingly rapid pace.

This suggests a growing interest in Bitcoin among retail investors and smaller market participants, a trend that has been growing steadily over time.

In contrast, whales – defined as entities holding between 100 and 100,000 Bitcoins – saw their collective holdings fall to 55.5% of the total supply. This marks the lowest level since May. It is important to note that whale activity has historically played a significant role in price movements.

To top it off, CryptoQuant pointed out a consistent decline in Bitcoin outflows from exchanges since July 2021. According to the latest data, there are just over 2 million BTC remaining on exchanges. As a result, the purchase offer for new investors begins to decrease, which tends to benefit the price.

The reduction in Bitcoin holdings on exchanges can be seen as a sign that more investors are choosing to hold their Bitcoins in their wallets. In addition to bringing more security, this factor indicates less predisposition to sell.

Balances on exchanges

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is at the top of the BTC reserve list. According to Coinglass, the exchange holds 543,892 BTC in its reserves. However, Binance experienced significant outflows last month, with 15,597 BTC withdrawn.

Next is Coinbase Pro, which has 436,235 BTC in custody but also witnessed a net withdrawal of 210 BTC over the same period. Bitfinex ranks third with 368,856 BTC, and has seen an outflow of over 5,183 BTC over the past month.

Of the major exchanges, only OKX has seen a notable inflow of Bitcoin in the last 30 days, receiving 4,642 BTC on its platform. The exchange has a total of 124,017 BTC in its wallets. This unique influx suggests a specific market dynamic around OKX, which has started to attract more customers in recent months.