Bitcoin addresses with nonzero balances top 56 million

The number of wallet addresses holding more than zero Bitcoin reached about 56.92 million, extending its upward trend, Crypto Briefing reported. That marks an increase of more than sixfold from 2017, when the figure stood at under 10 million. While the exact tally varies by data provider, all providers observed the same long-term upward trend. The metric does not represent the actual number of Bitcoin holders, as one person can control multiple addresses and exchanges can pool many customers’ assets into a small number of wallets. Crypto Briefing said the measure is more meaningful as an indicator of broadening long-term network participation than as a direct predictor of price.