New data reveals that wallets belonging to Ethereum billionaires now hold almost one-third of the entire supply, marking the highest level since 2016.
Ethereum Addresses Holding at Least 1 Million ETH Account for 32.3% of Supply
On-chain analytics firm Santiment reports that Ethereum whales, owning more than 1 million ETH, have increased their holdings. The “Supply Distribution” metric tracks the percentage of Ethereum supply held by different investor groups.
These investor groups are categorized based on the number of coins in their balances. For instance, the 100-1,000 coins group includes investors with 100 to 1,000 ETH.
In focus are Ethereum investors holding 1 million or more ETH, with a current value of under $1.6 billion. This group consists of the largest whales in the network and wields significant influence in the market.
The chart below illustrates the changes in the supply held by these Ethereum billionaires over the past few months:
As depicted in the graph above, wallets holding at least 1 million ETH now control a combined 32.3% of the total circulating supply of Ethereum. This represents the largest portion of the supply owned by mega whales since July 2016. While it is positive that the largest investors are currently accumulating the asset, concerns about asset centralization arise.
A decentralized cryptocurrency should distribute its supply among users, with major players not controlling a significant portion. This is particularly important for Ethereum, which employs a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
In a PoS system, validators lock their coins into a staking contract and have the opportunity to process transactions. The higher their stake, the greater the chance of selection. In theory, a single entity controlling 51% of the staked supply could gain control of the entire network.
Currently, the billionaire whales do not have such control over the supply, but the current level of centralization is a notable aspect to monitor.
In more positive news, the total number of Ethereum wallets with some balance has surpassed 100 million, indicating growing adoption of the asset.
ETH Price
The current price of Ethereum is approximately $1,580, having recovered from yesterday’s low of $1,550.
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