May 24, 2025 • Written by xstpnews
Bitcoin has crossed the $109,000 mark, but what truly highlights its scarcity isn’t just the price. It’s the number of people who actually own a full BTC.
As of now, only 1 million addresses in the world contain at least 1 full Bitcoin, according to data from BitInfoCharts. In a world of over 8 billion people, that number tells a powerful story. The so-called “wholecoiners” are becoming an increasingly exclusive group.
Why This Number Matters
Bitcoin has a fixed supply. There will never be more than 21 million BTC. Of that, about 19 million have already been mined. But not all of those coins are accessible. A significant portion has been lost forever due to forgotten private keys, hardware failures, or user errors.
This means the actual number of Bitcoins available to the public is likely closer to 16 or 17 million, and possibly even lower.
Now consider this: fewer than 1 million addresses hold even one of those coins. That means less than 0.012% of the global population has managed to secure a whole Bitcoin.
The Race to Scarcity
Owning a full Bitcoin has become a kind of modern financial milestone. It is the digital equivalent of owning land in a world where land is permanently limited. The increase in institutional adoption, alongside retail demand, is making it harder each year to cross that one-BTC threshold.
Add to that the concentration of wealth. The top 100 richest Bitcoin addresses control a significant portion of the total supply. Binance’s cold wallet alone holds over 248,000 BTC, which accounts for more than 1% of the entire possible supply.
More Demand, Less Supply
The implications are clear. The competition for Bitcoin is accelerating. And as the asset becomes more widely accepted as a store of value and hedge against inflation, even owning a fraction of a Bitcoin could become significant.
With exchange balances dropping to seven-year lows and new buyers entering daily, the idea of becoming a wholecoiner may soon feel out of reach for the majority.
Bitcoin is not just rising in price. It is becoming more difficult to access in meaningful amounts. The fact that fewer than one million addresses hold 1 BTC or more speaks volumes. Scarcity is no longer theoretical. It is visible, quantifiable, and moving fast.
Those who hold even a fraction of Bitcoin today may be part of a story that future generations look back on as the beginning of a monetary shift.
