NEW DELHI: As per a report released on Tuesday, the recent volatility experienced by the leading cryptocurrency caused millionaire holders to incur large losses, wiping out more than 70,000 Bitcoin millionaires in 2022.
As of January 2, according to data from Finbold, there were 28,007 Bitcoin millionaire addresses. This is a decrease of almost 71.73 percent, or 71,085 addresses, from January 2 of the previous year. There were 99,092 millionaire addresses at the beginning of last year.
"The emergence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in recent years has given rise to a new class of affluent people, many of whom had acquired their fortunes by getting into the market early." the report read.
But during the past year, the market has undergone a severe collapse, with the price of Bitcoin plummeting precipitously, severely harming the fortune of many holders.
Notably, as of January 2023, 13.47 million Bitcoin addresses had between $100 and $999 worth of BTC, a decrease of roughly 13.33 percent (on-year) from 15.63 million.
5.33 million people owned at least $1,000 worth of Bitcoin as of January 2023, down from 6.54 million in 2022, making up the second-largest group of Bitcoin owners.
"Many investors have experienced a big decline in the value of their assets as Bitcoin's price keeps dropping. So, the decrease in millionaire addresses serves as a stark reminder of how far the cryptocurrency market has dropped since the 2021 bull run "says the research.
It is worth mentiioning that the declining number of Bitcoin millionaires is not solely an impact of the plunging prices.
"Due to Bitcoin's recent wild slide, it is more likely that investors will sell their holdings in order to prevent future losses. Institutions have joined the liquidation trend as well. For example, American business intelligence firm MicroStrategy sold about 700 Bitcoin, "the report said.
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