Smaller Bitcoin Wallets on the Rise Since Second Halving

The number of Bitcoin addresses with balances less than 1 BTC has increased by more than 100% since the second halving in July 2016.

The number of Bitcoin addresses since the second halving has increased across the board, but the number of small wallets with balances of less than 0.1 BTC saw the greatest improvement.

According to data from Glassnode posted on May 11, the number of Bitcoin (BTC) addresses with a balance of under 0.01 BTC — approximately $86 at the time of writing — after the third halving increased 235% when compared to the second halving in July 2016, exceeding ten million. Those addresses with a balance between 0.01 BTC and 0.1 BTC — roughly $86 to $860 — increased 204%, and the number of those with over 0.1 BTC but less than one Bitcoin increased 142%.

Source: glassnode

Even the number of whales with addresses over 1000 BTC — $8.6 million at the time of writing — increased 13.2%, while the number of wallet sizes between 100-1000 BTC — at least $860,000 — only rose 6.3%.

‘Younger’ wallets responsible for volatility?

During the March crypto crash, there was some speculation as to whether long-term BTC HODLers — those who had kept their crypto secure in their wallets for over five years — could have been responsible for the downturn. As Cointelegraph has reported, transactions involving coins stored for six months or less may have driven the Bitcoin market during 2019’s bullish phase and the March selloff.