According to reports conducted about the Bitcoin network, less than 5% of addresses own a vast majority of all existing Bitcoins (BTC). In research by News BTC, it was revealed that 1% of these individuals control more than half of the crypto-cash in 2017.
One study by TruStory stood out to News BTC as it revealed that around 80% of the present existing bitcoins are owned by 2.03% of addresses. In a tweet by Preethi Kasireddy, founder and CEO of TruStory, she also showed that 0.21% own 55.68% of bitcoin wealth, while 10.03% owns 89.29% and 36.86% owns 95.34%.
Room for doubt
The TruStory report was written by analyst Saurabh Despande. According to Desphande, the Lorenz Curve was used to determine the numbers stated in the report. However, one disclaimer that should be noted is that he took so-called “statistical liberties” in order to reach the conclusion.
Desphande said that “he let go of specific vital parameters” in order to clearly demonstrate the problems seen in BTC wealth distribution. One example of such liberties was when Desphande reallocated large chunks of bitcoins in storage wallets from their addresses to addresses with 1 bitcoin.
He also introduced an error into the data and neglected certain data.
The analyst said that the wealth distribution he was able to come up with is “nowhere close to the ideal.” He also acknowledged that the distribution, while the graph remains to be an approximation, is a threat to BTC.
Meanwhile, critics of the report say that this distribution can be easily disturbed. BlockTower Capital CIO Ari Paul remarked that the number of addresses is a “nonsense number.”
However, the report also gained the support of Civic co-founder and CEO Vinny Lingham who said that three million bitcoins remain to be under the control of only a few individuals.