Millionaires May Soon Struggle to Afford a Single Bitcoin
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, recently pointed out that there may soon be a time when even millionaires cannot afford to buy one full Bitcoin. He based this statement on mathematical calculations that show it is already possible today.
The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million units. As of now, over 20 million Bitcoins have been mined, which accounts for about 95.6% of the total supply. The remaining 930,000 Bitcoins are expected to be mined in a slow and gradual process that will continue until around 2140.
UBS's Global Wealth Report 2026 stated that there are approximately 57.5 million people worldwide with a net worth of over $1 million. In the United States alone, this number exceeds 23.6 million individuals. If we were to distribute the current supply of 20.07 million Bitcoins among these individuals equally, each one would only get about 0.35 Bitcoin.
However, this calculation does not take into account the fact that a significant portion of the existing Bitcoins have been lost forever due to forgotten wallet keys or other technical issues. CZ previously estimated that around 10-20% of all Bitcoins are either lost or unrecoverable, which would reduce the actual supply to as low as 17 million units.
Furthermore, many long-term holders of Bitcoin do not move their coins for years, making them effectively unavailable in the market. CZ noted on Twitter that 'yes, a lot of long term holders don't move or spend their Bitcoins.' He even went so far as to say that 'soon, millionaires won't be able to afford one full Bitcoin.'
It's worth noting that CZ was not predicting an immediate future where millionaires cannot afford a whole Bitcoin. Rather, he was highlighting the mathematical reality that there are already more people with over $1 million in net worth than there are Bitcoins in existence.
The limited supply of Bitcoin and its increasing scarcity may make it increasingly difficult for individuals to acquire even one full unit. However, CZ pointed out that this does not mean the Bitcoin's value will become inaccessible to most people. The cryptocurrency can be divided into smaller units called satoshis, making it possible for anyone to own a fraction of a Bitcoin.