Study Finds Most Bitcoin Still Held by Unknown Owners

Galaxy Research estimates that 11.1 million bitcoins — 55 percent of the roughly 20.1 million coins mined so far — sit on addresses with no identifiable link to exchanges, ETFs, governments or corporations.

The October data shows only 45 percent of the supply belongs to known players such as spot funds, the US government and listed companies. Galaxy Research president Alex Thorn believes the rest largely reflects early individual holders who continue to manage their own keys.

Some of these coins are probably lost forever through forgotten passwords, deceased owners or complex custody setups that have not yet been mapped.

Separately, the study flags 1 123 658 BTC on “Patoshi” addresses widely attributed to Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Based on information from cryptonews.net