Key Takeaways
- 2024 saw a 95% surge in crypto millionaires and billionaires.
- The rally caused the November 5 Donald Trump election win to attract many new crypto investors.
- The 2024 Bitcoin rally reportedly created over 84,000 new Bitcoin millionaires as people consider Bitcoin a long-term investment.
The year 2024 created a seismic shift in the global cryptocurrency market and significantly increased the number of Bitcoin millionaires and billionaires.
According to a report by Finbold Research, an average of 154 cryptocurrency addresses howling over $1 million worth of Bitcoin were created daily between December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2024. Bitcoin millionaires reaped significantly when the flagship cryptocurrency reached an all-time high of over $73,000 during the first six months before exploding and surging past the psychological six-figure mark to hit a new all-time high of $108,000 in December 2024.
Breaking down the Numbers
The rapid expansion in the number of Bitcoin millionaires highlights the increasing influence of cryptocurrencies on the global financial ecosystem. The Crypto Wealth Report 2024, released by Henley & Partners in August 2024, stated that after a significant turndown in 2022 and 2023, Bitcoin made a strong comeback beginning March 8 and March 14, 2024. The Finbold Research report states that the number of Bitcoin millionaires stood at 97,000 on December 31, 2023, and increased by 58% to reach 153,000 on December 31, 2024. Of particular interest is that at least 48,738 addresses holding between $1 million and $10 million joined the list, alongside another 7,587 addresses holding over $10 million worth of Bitcoin.
Apart from the Bitcoin millionaires, there was a substantial increase of crypto wallets holding between $100 and $999.99 worth of Bitcoin, with a whopping 3.3 million new addresses added, showing that at least 9,000 such crypto wallets joined the Bitcoin bandwagon daily. Regarding the value of those addresses, about 2 million new wallets holding between $1 and $99.99 – 5,652 were added daily, while 2.6 million wallets containing between $1,000 and $9,999.99 – 7,241 joined the Bitcoin community daily in 2024. Moreover, another 1.4 million addresses holding $10,000 to $99,999.99 joined every 24 hours, and some 991 addresses holding from $100,000 to $999,999.99 daily.
Growing Confidence in Crypto as a Long-Term Investment
According to Forbes magazine, Binance founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao has led the third year’s list of the wealthiest crypto billionaires with an estimated $33 billion worth of BTC. He is closely followed by Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, whose estimated Bitcoin worth is $11 billion. The third richest crypto billionaire, Tether founder Giancarlo Devasini, and MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor are the fourth.
Commenting on this development, Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, stated:
“The past year has seen the creation of 6 new crypto billionaires, 5 of whom made their fortunes primarily through Bitcoin, underscoring its dominant position in the market. The performance of the millionaire segment has been powerful, reflecting the growing confidence in crypto as a long-term investment.”
Conclusion
The resurgence of Bitcoin in 2024 highlighted renewed confidence and enhanced interest in the cryptocurrency market, attracting new investors from around the globe. Moreover, US President-elect Donald Trump’s win last November created at least 11,000 new crypto millionaires, besides bringing renewed enthusiasm with the hopes of a crypto-friendly regulatory framework. On the institutional market, Michael Saylor’s “Bitcoin-first Strategy” has attracted numerous corporate Bitcoin millionaires who are adding BTC to their investment portfolio.
