The rising popularity of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies encourages new investors to enter the market.
Despite the increase in the number of investors after the rally in Bitcoin, the scope and distribution of the owners of Bitcoin, which was released in 2009, did not change.
According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private research organization in the United States, a third of Bitcoin is in the hands of 10,000 individual investors.
In the report, the top 1000 people hold a total of 3 million BTC, while the next 9000 people hold 2 million BTC.
It is very difficult to determine BTC ownership rates, as the majority of the largest investors holding Bitcoin are exchanges and organizations that hold Bitcoin on behalf of individuals.
However, in its latest research, NBER found that agents controlled 5.5 million Bitcoins and individuals 8.5 million Bitcoins at the end of last year, using a data collection method that distinguishes addresses belonging to agents and individuals.
Mining Data Attracts Attention!
Another notable issue in the NBER research is mining data. According to the report, 10% of miners control 90% of the global hash rate, while only 0.1% (about 50 miners) hold 50% of the hash rate.
NBER added that in line with the emerging hash rate data, it could make the Bitcoin network vulnerable to 51% attacks, where a group of miners or a single miner can take control of a large part of the network.
“Our results show that the Bitcoin ecosystem is still dominated by large miners, Bitcoin holders or large and concentrated players such as exchanges, despite the huge interest Bitcoin has received in the last few years,” NBER researchers said.