How Much Bitcoin Does it Take to Break Into the 1% Club? - Decrypt (2024)

In brief

  • The "Bitcoin 1% club" refers to the top 1% of Bitcoin holders worldwide.
  • It's hard to determine how much BTC you need to be in the 1% club, since Bitcoin isn’t evenly distributed among addresses, and there are many lost Bitcoin.
  • Estimates for the threshold range from 0.28 BTC to as high as 15 BTC.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect current figures.

Since its creation just over a decade ago, Bitcoin’s price has risen far and fast, becoming one of the best-performing assets in recent years. That’s naturally led to curiosity among owners of the cryptocurrency: how much Bitcoin do you need to have stashed away to be considered a substantial holder? Do you have to be a Bitcoin millionaire?

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One yardstick by which this can be measured is the “1% Club”; that is, someone in the top 1% of Bitcoin holders worldwide. Of course, pinning down exactly what that means can be a challenge. Figures cited range from as low as 0.28 Bitcoin to 15 Bitcoin.

In February 2020, Jake Levison, then an analyst for Blockworks Group, tweeted that, “If you own 0.28 BTC, you’re statistically guaranteed to be in the richest 1% of the world in BTC terms.”

If you own 0.28 BTC, you're statistically guaranteed to be in the richest 1% of the world in BTC terms.

Stack sats fam🚀#BTC

— Jake Levison 🔴🟠 (@levijawn) February 18, 2020

Levison’s reasoning is that “if you own 0.28 BTC, only 1% of the world will ever be able to own more than you.” The rationale behind the figure, as former Google product director Steve Lee tweeted in 2018, is that if you divide Bitcoin’s 21 million hard cap by one percent of the then-current world population of 7.5 billion, you get… 0.28.

Of course, that doesn’t take into account the fact that not all 21 million Bitcoin have been mined yet, or the fact that there are millions of lost Bitcoin that skew the figure, or the fact that Bitcoin isn’t evenly distributed among addresses.

From now until the end of time.

My tweet was saying that if you own .28 BTC, only 1% of the world will ever be able to own more than you. Hence putting you in the top 1%.

— Jake Levison 🔴🟠 (@levijawn) February 18, 2020

That’s just one calculation, though; another rival theory suggests that you’d need a much larger investment of 15 Bitcoin to join the 1% club. At today’s prices, that’s about $619,000.

According to a chart published by Blocklink, 15 Bitcoin is the magic figure. Blocklink reached this conclusion by disregarding wallet and address data, and assuming no lost Bitcoin in its calculations of 25 million Bitcoin owners. The study also reportedly considered power law applied to the distribution of Bitcoin wealth, which was seen as equivalent to global wealth.

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How Much Bitcoin Does it Take to Break Into the 1% Club? - Decrypt (1)

At the time of their study, in 2018, Blocklink also claimed that 225,000 Bitcoin owners held this amount of Bitcoin, making the 1% club pretty exclusive.

However, different studies make different assumptions, and because there is no precise or transparent way of identifying who owns which addresses, it’s actually very hard to know how much Bitcoin you would need to enter the crypto community’s elite.

Bitcoin's "invisible whales"

It’s possible to approximate, but landing on precise figures is difficult because the data gets skewed by changes in the exact number of Bitcoin holders, the total of lost Bitcoin, and the total number of wallets.

For starters, multiple Bitcoin addresses can belong to the same person. Secondly, many crypto exchanges and other investment companies hold Bitcoin, but do so on behalf of their customers. “I think there might be quite a few invisible whales in Bitcoin,” Elias Strehle, researcher at the Blockchain Research Lab, told Decrypt.

“I would also add that this limits the explanatory power of on-chain data to determine Bitcoin adoption and the concentration of Bitcoin wealth in general,” said Ingo Fiedler, co-founder at Blockchain Research Lab, also in conversation with Decrypt.

Who is in the Bitcoin 1% club today?

It’s very hard to identify exactly who is currently in the Bitcoin 1% club, and how much of that 1% they can claim.

With that said, however, this chart, published by Bit Info Charts, gives us some good data as a starting point. According to the chart, there is at least one address out there that can claim membership of the Bitcoin 1% club.

How Much Bitcoin Does it Take to Break Into the 1% Club? - Decrypt (2)

Based on these figures, the single address at the bottom of this table owns 0.76% of the total Bitcoin in circulation, with a BTC balance of anywhere between 100,000 and 1,000,000.

For the sake of argument, it might also be theoretically possible for one individual address in any of the above categories to also own 1% of the total amount of Bitcoin in circulation. However, this would only be possible if the highest point in the Bitcoin balance range was enough to produce such a large share of total Bitcoin.

Obviously, the top group that holds a range between 0 and 0.001 is currently out of the question.

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Even still, as pointed out by the Blockchain Research Lab above, the same person can own multiple Bitcoin addresses, so this methodology wouldn’t necessarily produce accurate figures.

Does it matter how many people are in the Bitcoin 1% club?

Ultimately, trying to establish exactly how much Bitcoin is needed to break into the 1% club involves a little bit of estimation.

Regardless of where you land on these calculations, the importance of being a part of this club depends primarily on Bitcoin’s value at the time.

During Bitcoin’s famous Christmas bull run in 2017, being a part of Bitcoin’s elite 1% would have carried literally half the weight it does now, because Bitcoin’s value was about half its current price at that time.

If Bitcoin continues upwards on its current unprecedented bull run, we might expect a few more Bitcoin owners to brag about their elite club membership. Though for the sake of their own security, they might be well-advised to keep quiet.

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How Much Bitcoin Does it Take to Break Into the 1% Club? - Decrypt (2024)

FAQs

How Much Bitcoin Does it Take to Break Into the 1% Club? - Decrypt? ›

If you own 0.28 BTC, you're statistically guaranteed to be in the richest 1% of the world in BTC terms.

How many ASIC miners does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›

Statistically speaking, a solo miner looking to generate 1 BTC per day would need to contribute just over 0.11% of the total Bitcoin hash rate. As we previously mentioned, this is equivalent to around 149.2PH/s or the combined output of 2,334 Antminer S17e mining units.

How many bitcoins does Andrew Tate have? ›

Romain Prosecutors Seize Andrew Tate's Bitcoin (BTC)

Namely, Andrew Tate's Bitcoin (BTC) holdings amount to around $560,000, as opposed to the $400 million in Bitcoin (BTC) some news outlets claimed the Tate brothers possessed.

How much Bitcoin do you need to be in the top 2% of holders? ›

This means that to be in the top 2%, BTC holders will need to hold at least 0.28 BTC. Even though numerous researchers and studies show different findings, still, it is generally accepted in the community that these are the approximate numbers.

How long does it take a 3080 to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›

Each Bitcoin block takes 10 minutes to mine.

How much can 1 Bitcoin miner make a day? ›

Most Bitcoin mining rigs make at least 2000 USD every day on average. Some can make up to as high as 5000 USD daily. We recommend buying more efficient and robust mining equipment to maximize your daily income from Bitcoin mining.

How much does 1 Bitcoin miner make a year? ›

Crypto Mining Salary
Annual SalaryMonthly Pay
Top Earners$100,500$8,375
75th Percentile$77,500$6,458
Average$64,161$5,346
25th Percentile$48,000$4,000

How much Bitcoin do the Rothschilds own? ›

The Rothschild Family is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt. ... Rothschilds also own $14 Billion dollars worth of Bitcoins.

How many Bitcoin billionaires exist? ›

There are also likely a handful of anonymous Bitcoin billionaires out there; as of January 2021, there are 25 individual Bitcoin addresses holding more than a billion dollars, according to BitInfoCharts. Of those, five belong to crypto exchanges: CoinCheck, Bittrex, Binance, Bitfinex and Huobi.

Which miners own the most Bitcoin? ›

What are the famous bitcoin mining companies? The five biggest bitcoin mining companies, as of 18 April 2023, were Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Canaan (CAN), Hut 8 (HUT) and Cipher (CIFR), according to data from CompaniesMarketCap.

How many people own 1 whole Bitcoin? ›

Only 7% of the supply (1.356 million BTC, worth $36.4 billion) is distributed among the nearly 46.5 million addresses with at least some bitcoin — but less than one — per BitInfoCharts. The other 93% (18 million BTC, worth $482.7 billion) exists in the one million addresses that now own a full BTC.

How much Bitcoin you need to be in the richest 1% of BTC holders? ›

Apparently It Only Takes 0.28 bitcoin

There's no need to despair if you haven't been able to acquire (or keep) a full BTC, though. Jake Levison says that all it takes is 0.28 BTC: If you own 0.28 BTC, you're statistically guaranteed to be in the richest 1% of the world in BTC terms.

Is 95 of Bitcoin owned by 2? ›

A recent report by Bloomberg states that "2% of accounts control 95% of all Bitcoin". Bitinfocharts shows a similar distribution of BTC across addresses. And others have reported comparable statistics suggesting a vast concentration of wealth in the Bitcoin network.

How to get 1 Bitcoin for free? ›

Here are ways to get bitcoin for free:
  1. Airdrops.
  2. Brave Browser.
  3. Cloud mining.
  4. CoinMarketCap.
  5. Faucets.
  6. Bounty.
  7. Staking.
May 3, 2023

How much can 1 GPU make mining? ›

Top-ranked GPUs can each generate up to $7.75 profit in mining cryptocurrency at an electricity cost of 0.1 $/kWh. Combining multiple GPUs in a rig multiplies the profits significantly.

How much can RTX 3090 mine a day? ›

Past earnings of your setup on NiceHash
1 Day1 Week
💵 Income0.00002023 BTC 0.61 USD0.00014587 BTC 4.40 USD
⚡ El. costs0.00000000 BTC 0.00 USD0.00000000 BTC 0.00 USD
💰 Profit0.00002023 BTC 0.61 USD0.00014587 BTC 4.40 USD

Is mining still profitable 2023? ›

Bitcoin mining is still profitable in 2023. Bitcoin miners are currently mining around $20 million worth of Bitcoin per day. That's $600 million per month. A mining machine costs $2,000-$20,000, making it difficult for anyone but professional miners to mine.

Is crypto mining still worth it? ›

With energy prices on the rise, many people are wondering if bitcoin mining is still profitable. Here's the short answer: Bitcoin mining can be profitable if you invest in the right tools and join a bitcoin mining pool. That said, there are a lot of variables, and a high profit isn't guaranteed.

Is crypto mining illegal? ›

Is bitcoin mining legal? According to TheStreet, reporting on a November 2021 Law Library of Congress report, bitcoin mining is banned in various countries, such as Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar, and more. However, it is legal in the US, and most countries, but not all US states allow the same.

Are Bitcoin miners still profitable? ›

Cryptocurrency mining is still profitable in 2023, but it may not be as rewarding as in the past. Cryptocurrency mining is still profitable in 2023, but it may not be as rewarding as in the past.

How much electricity does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›

The fact is that even the most efficient Bitcoin mining operation takes roughly 155,000 kWh to mine one Bitcoin. By way of comparison, the average US household consumes about 900 kWh per month.

How much electricity does it cost to mine a Bitcoin? ›

Monthly Price Per kW to Price Per Mining Rig

Typically, prices range from $80-$140 per kW per month. This includes the space, power, internet, cooling and security. You will want to get your cost per kW per month. Next, you will want to calculate your total power demand.

How many bitcoins does the FBI hold? ›

The FBI now controls more than 144,000 bitcoins that reside at a bitcoin address that consolidates much of the seized Silk Road bitcoins.

How much bitcoin does FBI have? ›

A new report from Wired magazine indicates that the FBI is now in control of two addresses, or wallets, holding bitcoin worth as much as $120 million.

How much of bitcoin does Elon Musk own? ›

revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token. "I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from . 25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago," Musk confessed. Using today's bitcoin price of about $10,000 a coin, that translates to $2,500.

Who is the largest Bitcoin holder? ›

The creator of Bitcoin under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto is thought to be the largest Bitcoin holder. The Winklevoss twins, institutional investors like MicroStrategy, and governments like the United States and China are just a few examples of other well-known Bitcoin millionaires.

Who is No 1 richest person in the world? ›

Who is the richest man in the world? As of July 1, 2023, the richest man in the world is Elon Musk, the CEO of electric car company Tesla; he's worth $237.7 billion. He moved into the number one spot in June, overtaking Bernard Arnault of France.

How are there only 21 million bitcoins? ›

Just like a lot of other digital assets, Bitcoin has been built by its creator around the concept of a finite supply. This means that Satoshi has set a fixed upper limit regarding the number of Bitcoins that can ever come into existence. He set the Bitcoin supply upper limit at exactly 21 million.

What is the fastest Bitcoin miner? ›

The MicroBT Whatsminer M56S has a hash rate of 212 terahashes per second, making it one of the most powerful Bitcoin miners on the market.

Which country has most Bitcoin? ›

Switzerland is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world, and it continues to set the standard for financial innovation. The country has been at the forefront of cryptocurrency adoption, with some of the world's most advanced exchanges.

Who is the largest Bitcoin miner in North America? ›

North America's Largest Bitcoin Mining Facility by Developed Capacity. Riot's Rockdale Facility has a total power capacity of 750 MW, with 450 MW currently developed. This facility is believed to be the largest single facility, as measured by developed capacity, in North America for Bitcoin mining.

What is the smallest amount of Bitcoin you can own? ›

A satoshi is the smallest denomination of bitcoin, equivalent to 100 millionth of a bitcoin.

What is the top 1% of Bitcoin? ›

The "Bitcoin 1% club" refers to the top 1% of Bitcoin holders worldwide. It's hard to determine how much BTC you need to be in the 1% club, since Bitcoin isn't evenly distributed among addresses, and there are many lost Bitcoin. Estimates for the threshold range from 0.28 BTC to as high as 15 BTC.

What is the average Bitcoin holding per person? ›

Simple math shows that the average bitcoin holding per person is about 262,500 satoshis. At $69,000 per bitcoin, that works out to an investment of about $180 to reach the global average bitcoin allocation.

How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin with ASIC miner? ›

It takes around 10 minutes to mine just one Bitcoin, though this is with ideal hardware and software, which isn't always affordable and only a few users can boast the luxury of.

Can you mine Bitcoin with 1 ASIC? ›

There are more than ~1 million ASIC miners (specialized devices built for mining BTC and other cryptos) securing the Bitcoin network, and only one ASIC at a time can win the block reward.

Can you mine Bitcoin with one ASIC miner? ›

Using an ASIC miner: One can mine BTC, using a specialized mining device called an application-specific integrated circuit miner, which is specifically designed for mining Bitcoin. These devices are much more efficient than a computer with a GPU but also much more expensive.

How many Bitcoin can 1 miner make? ›

The amount of bitcoin earned by a miner for a single block can vary. Currently, every block produces 6.25 new bitcoin, called the block subsidy. This subsidy will fall by half every four years. In addition, miners collect fees from every transaction included in their block.

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