[2018-01-12] 97% of all bitcoins are held by 4% of addresses

[bbc.reporter]

Is this true? It would have been better if the article backed their claims with data. Also, if this is a mistake or not true then this is irresponsible reporting or a product of an incompetent journalist. The blockchain's public nature should not make it so hard to give them a, more or less, accurate picture of the rich list



Is bitcoin just another toy for the 1%?

It's a question analysts at Switzerland-based bank Credit Suisse explored in a big note on cryptocurrencies and blockchain sent out to clients on Thursday.

"The concentration of wealth at a small group of addresses – be it individuals or exchanges –means that a few key players in the game can have a massive influence on the bitcoin market," the bank said.

Read in full http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-97-are-held-by-4-of-addresses-2018-1

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[davis196]

The average bitcoin wallet user can have lots of addresses and he uses only one or two,most of the time.
The number of bitcoin addresses worldwide doesn`t prove anything.Most of them are "inactive".
That "4% of all addresses" conclusion is very overrated.I think that 90% of all btc wallet addresses are not used for transactions.
Having most of the bitcoins held by big cryto exchange platforms,big crypto gambling websites and big whales is actually normal.

[secondgarlic]

Maybe the numbers are off a bit, they are making assumptions after all. But I also believe that a huge percentage of bitcoins worldwide belong to a small number of people. I believe that te dump towards the end of 2017, where the price crashed from $20K to like $13K in such a short time would not have been possible if huge whales were cashing out at the same time.

[tee-rex]

Is this true? It would have been better if the article backed their claims with data. Also, if this is a mistake or not true then this is irresponsible reporting or a product of an incompetent journalist. The blockchain's public nature should not make it so hard to give them a, more or less, accurate picture of the rich list



Is bitcoin just another toy for the 1%?

It's a question analysts at Switzerland-based bank Credit Suisse explored in a big note on cryptocurrencies and blockchain sent out to clients on Thursday.

"The concentration of wealth at a small group of addresses – be it individuals or exchanges –means that a few key players in the game can have a massive influence on the bitcoin market," the bank said.

Read in full http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-97-are-held-by-4-of-addresses-2018-1

There are lies and there are statistics, which may be even worse than outright lies. Obviously, individuals holding most coins is not the same as exchanges hosting these coins in their cold wallets for their clients. Exchanges can move the price even if they didn't have the coins or dollars or whatever. They can create money out of nothing like Tether/Bitfinex does, so what's the difference if they really keep the coins?