927 People Own Half of All Bitcions

[zhinkk]

These articles miss the point.  They're calling addresses people.  This would be the equivalent of saying 90+% of all US dollars are owned by 100 people (probably fewer), because BANKS are the ones holding the dollars for the vast majority of all currency.

A huge number of those stockpiles are likely wallets for exchanges.

I agree with this. Exchanges and other bitcoin businesses don't usually have 1,000 addresses for holding their bitcoin, but a few hot wallets and maybe a few cold storage wallets.

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[Probably]

These articles miss the point.  They're calling addresses people.  This would be the equivalent of saying 90+% of all US dollars are owned by 100 people (probably fewer), because BANKS are the ones holding the dollars for the vast majority of all currency.

A huge number of those stockpiles are likely wallets for exchanges.

this.

please stop posting these bullshit articles that don't understand bitcoins.

addresses != people



that said, the central point of "a few people own most of bitcoin" is still true, it just needs to be stated intelligently.


edit: I lol'ed at this comment:


nope on Dec 11, 6:00 PM said:

Please stop posting these utterly incorrect articles. Do you understand the difference between an ADDRESS and an INDIVIDUAL? I will break it down:

1. an individual can have multiple ADDRESSES.
2. exchanges and other investment platforms hold COINS FOR MANY PEOPLE in a SMALL NUMBER OF ADDRESSES, aka, A SINGLE ADDRESS can be holding the coins for MULTIPLE PEOPLE.

There is this amazing technology called "database" which uses magical math and electro-shocks to store who actually owns what! It's a weird old trick!

You want to sound so matter of fact about your claims, but you don't even understand the basic facts. You should delete this article to save face.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/927-people-own-half-of-the-bitcoins-2013-12#ixzz2nD5uj8JZ

[SgtSpike]

I'm sure Goat and Rpietila are one of them  

hmm...   yeah I am one of them.

So Goat owns at least 1k BTC!

Weirdly, that doesn't sound like all that much.  I am kind of surprised that only 927 addresses have at least 1k bitcoins in them.

[Kluge]

I'm sure Goat and Rpietila are one of them  

hmm...   yeah I am one of them.

So Goat owns at least 1k BTC!

Weirdly, that doesn't sound like all that much.  I am kind of surprised that only 927 addresses have at least 1k bitcoins in them.

Legend has it that Goat buried a 5kBTC physical coin deep underground in Thailand. It was no small feat, requiring a few backhoes and an overseas shipping container which was lowered underground with a guard dog. Goat's Thai lawyer checks in on the dog every couple days, sending water and body parts down to it through a tube.

[Probably]

How many per cent of all USD is held by the 900 richest people in USA?

The richest 1% (somewhere around 2 to 3 million people) hold 42% of the wealth in the USA. So should be somewhere around 10-20%.

Source?  See this:  Walmart Heirs Worth Same Amount As Bottom 40 Percent Of Americans In 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/waltons-net-worth_n_1680642.html

http://xkcd.com/980/huge/#x=-6432&y=-9056&z=2 has a good chart you can zoom around with.

the breakout is:

1.3% of the HOUSEHOLDS, 1.6 million,  earn 20% of the money. $2 trillion dollars. ($400,000+ a year income)
08%, 09 million households, earn 20%... $2 trillion ($150,000-$400,000)
16%, 18 million households, earn 20%... $2 trillion ($90,000-$150,000)
23%, 27 million households, earn 20%... $2 trillion ($55,000-$90,000)
50%, 63 million households, earn 20%... $2 trillion (0-$55,000)



This is different than "are worth same as 40%" or "hold X% of the wealth."

"the walmart heirs" constitute either 1 mega household (don't think so) or multiple households...

[Desensitizer]

I don't think that is the reason things are so volatile. I think cryptocurrency's inherent instability that is the real problem. Those 900-some people for the most part are not trading constantly, they are holding on to their bitcoins, and the little guys are moving coins around all over the place. The fact that regulations are still constantly coming down regarding bitcoins also contributes to their instability, as the market is nervous about their ever-changing legality and area of use.

[peta4e]

I think it will become more stable in the next years but it will definitely add zeros to its fiat price : ))

[watts]

It's important to remember though that the market cap of the US dollar is a multitude of times higher than the market cap of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin's market cap was as high as the US dollar, the wealth would likely be more evenly-distributed.

[visionary]

Oil was dominated by fewer people

[bryant.coleman]

It's important to remember though that the market cap of the US dollar is a multitude of times higher than the market cap of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin's market cap was as high as the US dollar, the wealth would likely be more evenly-distributed.

Important point. Many of these 927 people will cash out within the next 1-2 years. Only a few months ago, we had around 1,200 people with more than 1K bitcoins. Now the number is down to 0.9K.

[BitchicksHusband]

I personally think that those 927 people do contribute to the volatility

1. A buy & hold/hoard strategy (ironically used by people that think they are supporting BTC) manipulates the volatilty of BTC to the upside. (It removes those BTC from the actively traded BTC amount.) BTC is volatile enough as it is with a small market cap but even worse if only a small % of coins are actively traded as small $ or BTC inflows/outflows drastically move the market.

2.Their unintentional strategy manipulates the price of BTC to the downside
(Once hoarded/held - their BTC don't contribute to the future buying pressure only additional selling pressure whenever they choose to sell.  I think it would help if some of them sell a few BTC into large rises and buy on dips with profits, that way I think they will help stabilize rising markets and supporting falling ones.

We BUY and hold, but don't contribute to the BUYing pressure?  Uh, OK.  When it dips low enough, I buy more.  And hold.

[BitchicksHusband]

ITT: People starting to learn that all monetary systems are subject to the Pareto Principle.

[wormbog]

I personally control multiple addresses, each of which have under 1000 bitcoin. But when added together... they are still far less than 1000.

[e521]

A very few hoarders with many coins contribute to the volatility: they contribute to the volatility because they don't actually trade / spend:
Are we supposed to spend bitcoin or can we also use it for saving? I thought that the point of bitcoin, the currency, was also to be free.
Do you live your life spending everything you earn?
And how do you know an address/es is owner by a single person and not a society / group?

Personally, at this stage I don't care if bitcoin is more or less volatile as I see my money "lost" anyway, consider it's an highly speculative new technology

Note: bitcoin is the currency and Bitcoin is the network, Subject is misspelled twice!

[FandangledGizmo]

I personally think that those 927 people do contribute to the volatility

1. A buy & hold/hoard strategy (ironically used by people that think they are supporting BTC) manipulates the volatilty of BTC to the upside. (It removes those BTC from the actively traded BTC amount.) BTC is volatile enough as it is with a small market cap but even worse if only a small % of coins are actively traded as small $ or BTC inflows/outflows drastically move the market.

2.Their unintentional strategy manipulates the price of BTC to the downside
(Once hoarded/held - their BTC don't contribute to the future buying pressure only additional selling pressure whenever they choose to sell.  I think it would help if some of them sell a few BTC into large rises and buy on dips with profits, that way I think they will help stabilize rising markets and supporting falling ones.

We BUY and hold, but don't contribute to the BUYing pressure?  Uh, OK.  When it dips low enough, I buy more.  And hold.

Um, you managed to misquote the only sentence you pulled from my paragraph, you'd do great working for the MSM  

I said you don't contribute to the 'Future' buying pressure.

(Obviously buying additional BTC with earned fiat on dips because you understand the long term potential of BTC is good too. But many of the early adopters will have too much of their NAV already in BTC to justify adding further income earned outside BTC to their BTC pot.)

The buy/support wall is pretty thin, more BTC holders selling into rises and then placing buy orders at lower amounts could help contribute to decreasing volatility until there is more transactional demand for BTC.

[bryant.coleman]

again, addresses are not people...

No. I wasn't talking about addresses. I was talking about people. There are thousands of wallets right now with more than 1K BTC.

[bryant.coleman]

not so sure that is ture.

Hhmmm... I am also not sure. Just checked it, and found that #500 is holding 2,220 BTC.

[Johnny Bitcoinseed]

It's like any store of wealth be it silver, gold, dollars, or what have you.

Don't be jealous and cry in your milk because someone has more than you: DO something about it.

Here's how: Create something of value other people are willing to purchase from you.  THAT is the most common way to become wealthy yourself.

Remember, during the gold rushes the miners were not usually the ones who made a fortune...the merchants did!

The potential for a merchant to sell goods or services and make hundreds and thousands of bitcoins is immense.  Do it now and get in on the ground floor while bitcoin is still relatively fresh and new.

This is your big chance, don't blow it by mopping around crying.  Either get in the game or stay on the couch, it's your call and you reap the rewards of your decisions.

[cr1776]

It's like any store of wealth be it silver, gold, dollars, or what have you.

Don't be jealous and cry in your milk because someone has more than you: DO something about it.

Here's how: Create something of value other people are willing to purchase from you.  THAT is the most common way to become wealthy yourself.

Remember, during the gold rushes the miners were not usually the ones who made a fortune...the merchants did!

The potential for a merchant to sell goods or services and make hundreds and thousands of bitcoins is immense.  Do it now and get in on the ground floor while bitcoin is still relatively fresh and new.

This is your big chance, don't blow it by mopping around crying.  Either get in the game or stay on the couch, it's your call and you reap the rewards of your decisions.

Qft.

There are lots of opportunities out there, you just have to find one and do it.

[oakpacific]

1. You need to be clear that it's all the bitcoins that have been minted.

2. It maybe news to some, but U.S gov actually controls more gold than all of their citizens' combined.