River Estimates Only 0.01% of Global Population Holds 1 Bitcoin or More

A new estimate from U.S. Bitcoin financial services firm River suggests that roughly 825,000 people worldwide hold at least one whole Bitcoin ($BTC). This figure represents approximately 0.01% of the global population, or about one person in every 10,000.

River's analysis began with approximately 972,000 on-chain addresses containing at least 1 $BTC. The firm then excluded addresses managed by companies, governments, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and cryptocurrency exchanges, which can hold assets for millions of users.

To account for individual exchange customers who own 1 $BTC or more, River assumed that the distribution of Bitcoin holdings among exchange users mirrors the distribution observed on-chain. Based on this methodology, River concluded that the number of individual holders with at least 1 $BTC is around 825,000, with a plausible range of 600,000 to 1 million.

This concentration has implications for both retail and institutional investors, as well as for Bitcoin's long-term value proposition. The data highlights how early Bitcoin adoption remains, even after 15 years of existence.