Only 21 Million Bitcoins Available for 58 Million Global Millionaires
Recent analysis shows a significant numerical gap between the global millionaire population and the maximum Bitcoin supply. While there are 58 million millionaires worldwide, the total number of Bitcoins that can ever exist is capped at 21 million, creating a deficit of 37 million coins compared to the number of current millionaires.
Currently, only 1 million Bitcoin addresses hold one or more Bitcoin, representing about 0.0125% of the global population. This level of ownership has become increasingly exclusive since 2016, when Bitcoin's price was between $400-500. At today's price of nearly $100,000, a full Bitcoin has moved beyond the reach of many investors.
The situation is particularly challenging for younger generations. The average American under 35 has savings of $20,540, which amounts to only about one-fifth of what's needed to purchase a single Bitcoin at current prices. The price increase from $500 to $100,000 represents a 19,900% rise over eight years.
The mathematical reality of Bitcoin's scarcity becomes clear when comparing the numbers: even if every millionaire wanted to own just one Bitcoin, 37 million of them would be unable to do so. This means that 63.8% of current millionaires could never own a full Bitcoin, even if they tried to acquire one.
The supply limitation creates a unique dynamic in wealth distribution. While the number of millionaires can increase indefinitely through currency creation and inflation, the Bitcoin supply remains fixed at 21 million. This represents less than 0.0003% of the world's population of 8 billion people.
The actual distribution of Bitcoin ownership might be even more concentrated than these numbers suggest. Since individuals and organizations can control multiple addresses, the true number of people owning one or more Bitcoin could be lower than the 1 million addresses currently holding a full coin.