According to on-chain data from Glassnode, the Bitcoin network has registered over one billion bitcoin addresses.
What sounds like an incredible number is the story of a startup growing into a global player. Once upon a time it was 2008. Satoshi Nakamoto and his team successfully built Bitcoin and created two working bitcoin wallet addresses.
14 years later, August 2022. There are now an excess of a billion Bitcoin wallet addresses recorded on the bitcoin blockchain.
The enormous growth reflects how valuable bitcoin has become as a store of value and as a global settlement layer. Sending a bitcoin transaction only costs cents yet has no limit in transaction volume.
Startups, banks, institutions and asset mangers around the world have accelerated bitcoin’s growth, however many are concerned that too many people keep their bitcoin stash on exchanges.
On the protocol level, bitcoin is transferable beyond borders and political influence and resists any censorship. Anyone can create as many bitcoin wallets as he wishes and doesn’t need to ask for permission.
Permissionlessness, simplicity and the fact that once you own your private keys, nobody can freeze your money are great prerequisites to achieve mass adoption with a revolutionary financial technology.
Bitcoin spreads not just among the rich and powerful, but especially among the unbanked and those who are excluded by the legacy financial system.
