Bitcoin reached 44 million addresses on February 4, 2023, making it one of the highest-held cryptocurrencies in the world. The largest (in terms of market cap) and most expensive cryptocurrency is set to be the most-held cryptocurrency in the world.
Further analysis of the number of holders as of February 15, 2023, shows that the top 10 and 20 holders own 5.37% and 7.45% of the total asset. 10.75% is held by the top 50 while the top 100 own 13.64% of it.
The all-time high for Bitcoin is still capped at $68,789.63 reached on November 10, 2021, while the all-time low is at $65.53, attained on July 5, 2013.
From 2022 into 2023, there has been speculationsvon the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies due to the collapse of several crypto companies such as FTX, Celsius, Terra, Voyager Digital, and Three Arrows Capital. As billions of dollars were lost, the crypto market took a nosedive through 2022 with Bitcoin hitting a resistance of $15,600 in December 2022.
Coming into 2023, Bitcoin has increased above $15,600 to rally a little above $20,000. According to a Bloomberg analysis, the price of bitcoin will slump and rise to $10,000 and $40,000 respectively in 2023.
Future Bitcoin events
One of the most anticipated events for Bitcoin is the next halving. Halving is an occurrence in the bitcoin network where the amount of reward given to bitcoin miners is reduced by half.
The current reward for miners stands at 6.25 BTC for every block created. When the next halving occurs, probably on March 18, 2024, the reward for mining bitcoin will halve to 3.125 BTC.
From history, after each bitcoin halving, there has been a new all-time high for the asset. In 2013, Bitcoin had a new all-time high of $1,207, from $29.60 in 2011, after the November 2012 halving. The second Bitcoin halving which occurred on July 9, 2016, produced another new all-time high of $18,972 by December 2017.
The last halving on May 11, 2020, preceded the latest all-time high of over $64,000. It’s likely the next halving will have another positive effect on the price according to history.
Bitcoin has also shown its usefulness as a payment system. With the use of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, users are making payments across the world. Two nations, El Salvador and the Central African Republic have declared it a legal tender. In November 2022, the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil endorsed bitcoin as a means of payment.
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