The number could grow exponentially, representing a tremendous amount of purchasing power, one observer said.

The number of blockchain addresses holding at least $1,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC), which equates to 0.028 BTC at the current price of $35,115, has increased to a record high of 8 million, according to data tracked by Blockware Solutions and Glassnode.

Per Blockware, the above number could grow exponentially as bitcoin continues to monetize, a long-term bullish development for the cryptocurrency. Monetization, in theory, refers to the process of creating income potential from a non-revenue generating asset.

“If there are 10s or 100s of millions of addresses that contain thousands of dollars worth of BTC, that’s a tremendous amount of purchasing power,” Blockware Solutions said in an email.

The record figure comes as bitcoin has gained nearly 25% in four weeks amid speculation the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve one or more spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The optimism has also galvanized whale activity on the Bitcoin blockchain.

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/06/bitcoin-addresses-with-over-1k-of-btc-hits-record-8m-data-shows/